International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)

Danube near Weißenkirchen
Photo: BML / Alexander Haiden

Water doesn’t know any national borders. For the cooperation in the river basin area a Danube Protection Agreement was therefore signed in Sofia on 29 June 1994 and finally ratified in Austria in 1998. The ICPDR with its secretariat in Vienna fulfils the tasks of this agreement.

The contracting parties to the “Convention on Cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube River (EU, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, Austria, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine) are cooperating in the field of water protection as well as in the field of flood management. The ICPDR is the body established for this purpose within the framework of this agreement. The presidency changes every year between the contracting states.

Tasks of the Commission on the Protection of the Danube River”

The ICPDR does not only deal with international issues related to the Danube itself, but also with the whole Danube basin, including its tributaries and groundwater resources. Since its foundation in the year 1998 the ICPDR has developed into one of the largest and most active international bodies for river basin management in Europe and on a global scale. Important results of the work are the International Management Plan and the Flood Management Plan, the annual monitoring, the Danube Survey, the Danube GIS as well as the Danube warning system AEWS. Moreover, the work of the ICPDR is being closely coordinated with the EU Strategy for the Danube area.

Numerous working groups develop plans, concepts and solutions for challenges in the field of water management in the Danube basin. Austria plays an active role in this work. Austrian experts are, for example, heading the working groups Public Participation, Flood Protection and Monitoring and Assessment. Austrian experts are also active in the other working groups River Basin Management, Accident Prevention & Control, and Information Management & GIS.

Within the framework of the ICPDR great importance is attached to the integration of NGOs and a broad public. Among other things, there is the possibility to participate in the annual “Ordinary Meeting” of the Commission.

Danube Day in Austria

In order to raise the awareness of the people for the Danube in the countries numerous events are taking place in the whole Danube area in June. For further information, please see the link mentioned below.