Danube Day -- fears amidst the celebrations

Amidst the celebrations of this year's Danube Day on June 29, WWF is concerned about persisting threats to the Danube as a living river. Government and EU plans to remove “bottlenecks” for navigation could impact up to 1,000 km of the river’s most natural sections, and threaten to violate the non-deterioration clause of the EU Water Framework Directive.

Plans by the Romanian government to improve navigation between Calarasi and Braila on the Lower Danube could severely impact sturgeon migration routes, possibly pushing the already threatened fish species into extinction. WWF has tabled alternative solutions that would facilitate navigation while limiting negative impacts.

EU plans for developing the Danube as a major shipping corridor have called for the removal of "bottlenecks" on up to 1,000 km of the river's length. Traditional approaches to improving navigation involving damming, diking and dredging could have disastrous effects on the river, its natural goods and services.

WWF will present these and other concerns at public consultations on the Danube River Basin Management Plan that is being organized by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River in Bratislava on June 29-30.

The consultations are taking place within the framework of the EU Water Framework Directive, which calls for all rivers, lakes and coasts to achieve ‘good ecological status’ by 2015. European citizens have a key role to play in implementing the directive, which calls for the public to be informed and involved in the preparation of river basin management plans.

WWF has developed alternatives for promoting shipping while limiting damage to the Danube as a living river. The focus should first be on measures such as improved ship technology and logistics that do not require major changes to the river. Only after such alternatives are exhausted should much more expensive and non-reversible river modifications come into consideration.

WWF is also calling for increased attention to floodplain restoration in the Danube basin as a key measure for addressing climate change and securing ecosystem services, such as flood protection, drinking water provisioning and biodiversity.

According to a WWF commissioned study, the potential for floodplain restoration is much higher than countries have indicated in the draft river basin managment plan. Floodplains provide multiple benefits for humans and nature, securing a range of ecosystem services from flood protection to replenishing drinking water. Protecting and restoring floodplains can make a major and cost-effective contribution to addressing the challenge of climate change.

Romania has ambitious plans to restore over 400,000 ha of Danube floodplains, but work toward this ambitious goal is not planned before 2015.

Contact:
Andreas Beckmann, WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme, +43 676 84 27 28 216