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The ICPDR applauds the recent signing of the"goMURra" Declaration by Austrian Water Minister Norbert Totschnig and Slovenian Minister for Natural Resources Jože Novak. The declaration, signed on 11 November 2025 at the UNESCO 5-Country Biosphere Reserve, marks a significant step forward in transboundary water management and ecological restoration in the Danube River Basin.

Bucharest, Romania – Nine countries along the Danube River have joined forces to protect some of Europe’s most endangered species: the sturgeons. On 9–10 July, thirteen project partners and strategic allies – including national ministries, universities, NGOs and research bodies – gathered in Bucharest to launch “MonStur in the Danube,” a new cross-border effort to monitor and protect these ancient migratory fish.

Sturgeons, the most endangered group of species worldwide, are facing a perilous situation in Europe. These migratory species, which once freely swam from the Black Sea up to Germany, now find their ecological corridors severed by multiple barriers. Human interventions - such as hydropower, sediment extraction, navigation, river channelisation, by-catch and illegal fishing - are exerting severe pressure on habitats and populations, calling for immediate, coordinated actions.

For many countries in the Danube region, achieving universal access to water services while safeguarding water resources remains a significant challenge, particularly in rural areas.

The European Commission proposes to cut the use of chemical pesticides in half by 2030, one of the flagship legislative proposals to follow the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies. The new rules on chemical pesticides will reduce the environmental footprint of the EU's food system, protect the health and well-being of citizens and agricultural workers, and help mitigate the pesticide use-related economic losses.

On 20th May 2022, the ICPDR along with other UN-based organizations, including CTBTO, IAEA, IOM, UNIDO, UNODA and UNODC, participated in this year’s “Long Night of Research” (“Lange Nacht der Forschung”) Austria’s biggest science event for the public.