Europe - UNEP

Danube River from the medieval fortress of Kalemegdan at Belgrade, Serbia. Photo credit: Milan Vatovec.
5.2 THE DANUBE RIVER BASIN
The Danube River basin, encompassing an area
of 790,100 km 2 , includes 300 tributaries and
spans 2,870 km. Eighteen countries share the
waters of the Danube, which is more than in any
other basin in the world. The basin includes all of
Hungary; almost all of Austria, Romania,
Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, and Montenegro;
significant areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and
Moldova as well as part of Germany and the
Ukraine. In addition, Switzerland, Italy, Poland,
Albania, and Macedonia share small areas of the
Danube basin (less than 2,000 km 2 ; see Figure
5.2). The population of the Danube basin is 81
million people.
Significant environmental, economic, political,
and social diversity between the Danube basin
countries exists. For instance, the Danube basin
includes high alpine zones, large plains, sand
dunes, forested and marshy wetlands, and a
unique delta. Such diversity has led the Danube
River and its tributaries to become home to a
unique mix of habitat and wildlife, with around
2,000 vascular plants and more than 5,000
animal species. The Danube is home to the
largest remaining floodplain area in Central
Europe, located as the confluence of the Danube
and Drava, which is an area of outstanding
biodiversity. The floodplain area is shared by
Danube basin wetlands, Serbia. Photo credit: Milan Vatovec.
70 — Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Europe