| |
|
Danube governments face new challenges during the next stages of work required under the EU Water Framework.
These challenges were extensively discussed at the ICPDR Ordinary Meeting in December 2005 and a strategy for completing the Danube River Basin Management Plan by 2009 was agreed to. In addition an ICPDR ‘Road Map’ for completing this work was presented and agreed to by the ICPDR.
The road map includes steps to address the issues identified in the Danube Analysis Report. This includes
nutrient pollution, hazardous substances and hydromorphological alterations. Strategies for these issues will be included in the River Basin Management Plan and work has begun to address them. This issue of Danube Watch details the challenges of hydromorphological
alterations or – better said – the changes to the structure of rivers.
To more effectively structure the work needed in future
years the ICPDR has agreed to a new organisation of work groups. Details about the new structure and responsibilities of the work groups are included in this issue of Danube Watch.
An important element of the new activities of the ICPDR is the support to sub-basins and development in selected cases of sub-basin management plans. The ICPDR has agreed that four areas are possible for completing
sub-basin management plans that will be more detailed than the Danube Management Plan: the Sava, the Tisza, the Prut River, and the Danube Delta.
The Danube region has strengthened its capacity to address water management problems through developments
that have occurred at a sub-basin level. The formation of the Sava Commission reported in the last issue of Danube Watch and the success of Tisza countries
to cooperate on developing a Tisza River Basin Management Plan are positive signs that this sub-basin effort can work.
During the Moldovan Presidency of the ICPDR efforts
will be made to explore possibilities to strengthen cooperation
on the Prut River. Combined with efforts to
have a dialogue on the Danube Delta, this is changing the nature of the work of the ICPDR.
The ICPDR has made clear that these sub-basin initiatives
do not duplicate basin-wide coordination but strengthen coordination in areas where it makes sense. The hard work undertaken to complete the Danube analysis will continue in the coming years and necessarily
involve more dialogue with diverse stakeholders. Above all, success will depend on the active involvement
of experts from all Danube countries.
Philip Weller,
ICPDR Executive Secretary
|
