evaluation of the study visit - Mekong River Commission

MRC Study Visit to the Danube River Basin 2012
the TNMN is to provide a structured and well-balanced overall view of pollution and long-term trends
in water quality and pollution loads in the major rivers in the Danube River Basin.
In response to the danger of flooding and in line with its Joint Action Programme, the ICPDR decided
in 2000 to establish the long-term Action Programme for Sustainable Flood Prevention in the Danube
River Basin. The whole process was accelerated after disastrous floods in 2002 and resulted in
adoption of the Action Programme at the ICPDR Ministerial Meeting on 13 December 2004. The
efforts of the ICPDR Contracting Parties focus on interlinking of the national and/or regional systems
with the view of improving the overall coordination and transboundary coherence of flood
monitoring and forecasting systems.
VITUKI also operates the ICPDR’s Accident Emergency Warning System (AEWS), which is activated
whenever there is a risk of transboundary water pollution, or threshold danger levels of hazardous
substances are exceeded. The AEWS sends out international warning messages to the downstream
countries. This supports the authorities to put environmental protection and public safety measures
into action. The system underwent a major test in 2000, during the Baia Mare and Baia Borsa spill
accidents on the Tisa River. The system effectively enabled the timely activation of measures that
prevented more extensive damage to people and ecosystems downstream along the Tisa River.
Participants also had a chance to see the online flood warning tool operated by VITUKI.
4.6.3 Addressed MRC Learning Points
The discussions of the delegates of the Study Visit with the Austrian Ministry representatives focused
on the link between national and international river basin management and the operation of
respective coordination mechanisms as well as the contribution of Hungary in the framework of the
ICPDR.
In summary, the following MRC learning points have been addressed in detail and achieved:
European Water Framework Directive (EU WFD)
� National implementation of the EU WFD in Hungary from the regional to the national level;
� Challenges on the basin-wide scale during the first WFD planning cycle;
� Challenges of implementing the WFD in a transboundary sub-basin
Preparation and implementation of the Danube River Basin Management Plan
� Inter-linkage of the national River Basin Management Plans with the international Danube and
Tisza River Basin Management Plan;
� Implementation of the EU WFD and the respective development of the DRBM Plan seen from a
contracting state’s perspective;
� Contributions of Hungary to the development of the DRBM Plan;
� Added values of an international DRBM Plan for the Hungarian national level;
Development of basin-wide environmental objectives and baseline indicators
� Presentation of environmental indictors, biological quality elements to assess baselines and the
water status classification system;
� Current situation on water status as presented in the DRBM Plan;
� Information on transnational water quality monitoring
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