International Danube Day: Romania runs #DanubeFloodplain project in view of reducing flooding risk

A project dedicated to the river Danube evaluates three types of scenarios to identify in view of restoration naturally floodable areas of the river and its main tributaries, the Romanian Waters National Adminisration (ANAR) informs, on the occasion of the International Danube Day, marked each year, on June 29. "Less visibly, but just as important, the Danube and its riverbed play an essential role in stabilizing climate and managing the effects of climate change. The hydrological events that we've been through in the last period remind us of the fact that there is need to offer rivers more space to accumulate water and to give back flood-plains. As leaders of the #DanubeFloodplain project, the teams of the Romanian Waters National Administration, together with the Ministry for Environment, Waters and Forests, the National Institute for Hydrology and Water Management, together with WWF-Romania, are evaluating three types of scenarios to identify in view of restoration naturally floodable areas of the Danube and its main tributaries. Thus, the risk for flooding in the Danube basin can be reduced, while at the same time stimulating socio-economic development and improving eco-systemic services," wrote the institution on its own Facebook page. Each year, on June 29, the 14 countries in the Danube river basin celebrate together one of the largest river systems in Europe. The International Danube Day is celebrated, in 2021, for the second time, in special conditions, according to www.danubeday.org. The marking of the International Danube Day was instituted after the signing, in 1994, of the Convention regarding cooperation for the protection and sustainable use of the river Danube by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). The document, signed on June 29, 1994, in Sofia, Bulgaria, offers the framework for cooperation for governments, non-governmental organizations, research and industry institutions, this date being marked internationally at the proposal of the Danube countries and under the banner of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. Officials of the states situated in the Danube basin (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine) and on the part of the European Commission signed the document, bringing to the attention of public opinion the necessity to protect the Danube. Later, the Convention was signed by Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. Romania is the depositary of the Convention regarding cooperation for the protection and sustainable use of the Danube river. In Romania, the 11 administrations of the Danube Waters Basin organize special meetings dedicated to the celebrations of Danube Day. Other events for children and the general public have as a purpose raising awareness on the importance of the Danube and its tributaries. The Danube is the main European river, which brings numerous economic benefits to its riparian countries and together with its affluents forms one of the most important water systems in Europe. The hydrographic basin of the Danube plays an important role in the political, social, economic, and cultural realms for the development of Central and South-East Europe. The Danube, the second river by length in Europe, crosses Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. From the Black Forest Mountains in Germany and to the Delta, the Danube spans 2,845 km. Of all the riparian countries, Romania has the most Danube coverage, 98 pct of its surface being in the receptor basin of the Danube. At the meeting of the Black Sea, the Danube creates one of the largest and best preserved wet areas of Europe, the Danube Delta, with over 5,000 plants and animal species, according to the ANAR data. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Badea, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Razvan-Adrian Pandea, editor: Simona Iacob)