Europe - UNEP

Danube River flowing through Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Photo credit: Richard Hermann.
waterways. 1 Such pollution is leading to major
problems within the Danube River basin that
include excessive nutrients and pollutants, such
as cadmium, lead, mercury, DDT, lindane and
atrazine, which are disturbing the ecological
balance of the Danube River and the Black Sea.
Floods are also a major concern within the
Danube basin. For example, the floods of 2002
caused 14.4 billion euro of damage in Germany,
Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
Moreover, the fragility of the Danube’s
environment is well represented by the Baia Mare
cyanide spill in Romania in 2000 that affected the
Tisza, one of the main tributaries of the Danube
River. Furthermore, the tailing dam burst at Baia
Borsa in 2000, which released 20,000 tons of
heavy metals into the Novat River, a tributary of
the Viseu and Tisza.
In the 1990s the Danube basin countries
took significant steps to improve the management
of the Danube. In June of 1994, the convention
on cooperation for the protection and sustainable
use of the Danube River was signed by 11
countries and the EU in Sofia, Bulgaria. The aim
of the convention was to initiate sustainable and
equitable water management of the Danube River
basin, including the conservation, improvement,
and rational use of the surface waters and
groundwater in the catchment area. Soon after
signing the 1994 Danube convention, the parties
agreed to adopt an interim strategic action plan
for the Danube basin that served as a tool for
implementing the provisions of the convention.
During these early years, an interim international
commission and secretariat was set up that
established a joint monitoring system for the
Danube.
1
Significant polluters include chemical, food, and pulp and paper
industries, which have raised the levels of nutrients, heavy metals,
and organic micro-pollutants in the river (Danube, 2004).
One of the many volcanic springs in Slovakia, Danube Basin. This
one is outside the town of Levoca. Photo credit: Richard Hermann.
72 — Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Europe