Fritz Holzwarth, Head of the German Delegation to the ICPDR.

In its continuing series, Danube Watch presents portraits of the leaders whose passion and commitment actively steer ICPDR processes and help determine the future of our river basin.

DANUBE WATCH: Mr. Holzwarth, despite the ongoing discussion if the Breg or the Brigach is the ‘real’ source of the Danube, the starting point of this European River lies in Germany. Do you see a special responsibility that arises from this fact?

Mr. Holzwarth: The Danube springs from two rival sources, both trickling down the slopes of Germany’s Black Forest and from there on threading the heart of Europe. As an upstream country, we certainly cannot ignore the responsibility we have for the whole river. Moreover we clearly have the obligation to coordinate with our partners in the basin under the EU Water Framework Directive. We are very grateful that also those countries, which are not legally bound by EU legislation, expressed their will to share the responsibility for Integrated River Basin Management in line with the provisions of the Directive.

DANUBE WATCH: During your year of the ICPDR Presidency in 2003, you made an attempt to involve the countries of the lower Danube more fully in the work of the ICPDR. How do you see the devel-opment since that time?

Mr. Holzwarth: First of all I would like to emphasise that I am very grateful to those countries I visited in my capacity as ICPDR President. Those missions were not only an opportunity to underline and to strengthen the role of the ICPDR by talking to environment and water management authorities but also to finance and other sectorial ministries. I learned a lot about these countries and the specific problems they face. Also, I clearly understood that these countries see the Danube as a window of opportunity on their road to the European Union. I hope that those missions opened the door for an intensified cooperation with the ICPDR. Certainly this needs further efforts from all sides, and I am particularly grateful to Ms. Catherine Day, the ICPDR President 2004, for securing continuity to this development. Furthermore, Hungary holding the Presidency in 2005 will ensure continuity in raising the profile of the most important European river linking countries and people of a diverse and changing Europe.

DANUBE WATCH: At most of the ICPDR meetings, the Federal Government as well as the Länder, especially Bavaria, represent Germany. Could you please briefly explain the structure and responsibility of German authorities regarding water management?

Mr. Holzwarth: In the field of water management the legislative power of the federal government is — according to our constitution — restricted to framework legislation. Within this frameworks set by the Federal Water Act, the federal states enact their own water laws and are competent for the execution and enforcement. Although the Federal Government has the lead in international negotiations it must coordinate its contributions and positions with the federal states if their specific competences are concerned. Currently the present division of competences in water policy and legislation is under review in the framework of a commission jointly established by the Federal and Federal States Governments for preparing a general reform of the constitutional provisions on the German federal system. It is expected that this commission will propose a strengthening of the legislative competences.

DANUBE WATCH: With the so-called ‘Petersberg-Process’ initiated by Germany and the World Bank in 1999, your government clearly assumed responsibility for the stabilisation of the Balkan region. Does this initiative also have an influence on water management?

Mr. Holzwarth: The Petersberg Process stems from the ‘Petersberg Round Tables on Transboundary Waters’, which was launched as a joint effort of the German Government and the World Bank in March 1998 and highlighted the importance of water for regional cooperation. The Petersberg Process accentuates Water as Catalyst for Cooperation. We actually decided to initiate Phase II of the Petersberg Process, again in close cooperation with the World Bank. During the next phase we will focus on smaller river basins of Southeastern Europe, including the Sava River Sub-basin, the Adriatic Sea Basin and the Aegean Sea Basin with the main goals to implement activities on the ground. This includes the review and exchange of experience from existing cooperation mechanisms, the facilitation of mechanisms where they do not yet exist, and the creation of a network of local experts. However, the Petersberg Process Phase II will draw on the experiences from processes going on in the Danube Basin, such as the ICPDR, the UNDP/GEF–Danube Regional Project and the Sava River Inititative under the auspices of the Stability Pact.

DANUBE WATCH: Thank you very much, Mr. Holzwarth.

GERMANY: FACTS & FIGURES
Size of the country: 357,023 km2
Share of the total Danube River Basin area: 56,184 km2 (7.0%)
Population: 82.44 million
Population in the Danube River Basin: 9.4 million
Capital: Berlin
Per-capita GDP (2003): 25,800 Euro
Main tributaries to the Danube: Iller, Lech, Isar, InnBasin

HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS
‘Wir sind ein Volk — We are one people’, sang crowds watching the Berlin Wall fall on November 9, 1989. A year later, on October 3, 1990, Germany was reborn. One people, divided since the end of World War II, had one country again.

German unity, however, is relatively new. Disparate Germanic principalities did not come together until 1871 when the King of Prussia became emperor of Germany, but defeat in World War I cost Germany its empire. Heavy reparations, inflation and unemployment hounded the democratic, but shaky, Weimar Republic. By 1933, a demoralised population had turned to the National Socialist German Workers‘ Party, who rearmed Germany, and invaded neighbouring countries, triggering World War II.

When Germany surrendered in 1945, it lost eastern lands and the Allies divided the rest of the country into four occupation zones. In 1949, the American, French and British zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and the Soviet Union established the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The Berlin Wall went up in 1961 to stop East Germans from fleeing west.

Rejoining the two populations after 45 years of separation has been difficult, since the economy in eastern Germany remains weak. However, as Europe‘s largest economy and most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent‘s economic, political and defence organisations. Germany is a founding member of the European Union, a member of NATO, and signed the Danube River Protection Convention on June 29, 1996.