Danube Rivers Morphology and Revitalization - DANUBEPARKS

Measures to prevent soil loss from arable land could further reducephosphorus emissions considerably (up to 14% reduction when applied to all arableland). This is an important measure in the Upper Danube where other options areless effective. In combination, all measures can reduce N and P by 8 and 40%,respectively. However, for N, the management objective, as stated in the DRBMPlan, cannot be achieved by 2015 (after ICPDR, 2009, quoted by Sommerwerk N. etal., 2010).Proactive management of protected areasWithin the DRB, 1071 freshwater protected areas (>500 ha) have beenidentified (after ICPDR, 2009, quoted by Sommerwerk N. et al., 2010). However, it isdifficult to estimate the total area of protection sites within the DRB because variousprotection categories spatially overlap. For example, parts of the Danube FloodplainNational Park east of Vienna (Austria) are concurrently designated as aNATURA2000 site, Ramsar area, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, National Park,Nature Reserve, IBA (Important Bird Area) and Protected Landscape. Moreover,there is variation throughout the DRB countries whether aquatic ecosystems are thefocus of protection, and categories like ‘National Park’ and ‘Nature Reserve’ are oftennot in accordance with the international categories of the IUCN (after Dudley, 2008,quoted by Sommerwerk N. et al., 2010). The different uses and protection categoriesof freshwater reserves can be attributed to the biogeographic setting, the uneveneconomic development of the DRB, and different stressors that act in the differentregions. Although water abstraction for irrigation and chemical pollution are majorstressors in SE Europe, hydropower generation, flood protection and navigation (i.e.hydromorphologic alterations) dominate in Central and Western Europe. Protectedareas that are managed by an administrative authority usually belong to the highestconservation category. The Accessory Publication (Part A) lists these protected areasalong the Danube River and its major tributaries.The NATURA2000 concept constitutes the first uniform definition of habitattypes to be protected in Europe. Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the BirdsDirective (Directive 2009/1471EC) as well as the protection of threatened (Red List)species protected by the Bern Convention are integrated into the NATURA 2000network. Along the main stem of the Danube River, 117 NATURA2000 sites, ranging20