Vienna, Austria – Every
year on this day, the European nations where
the Danube River flows celebrate the continent’s
greatest river system; a system that supplies
drinking water to millions and supports diverse
habitats and rich biodiversity.
“While many will sing praises of the Danube
on this day, popping the champagne corks is
premature as river engineering projects promoted
by national governments and supported by the
European Union could transform our living
river into little more than a shipping canal,”
said WWF freshwater expert Dr Christine Bratrich.
A recent WWF report lists the Danube as one
of the world’s top ten threatened rivers.
Shipping corridor
WWF is concerned that EU plans to artificially
deepen, regulate and/or dam 1,000km of the
Danube as part of a integrated river transporation
systems, known as Corridor Number 7, will
destroy many of Europe’s last great river
landscapes and remaining wetland areas.
This includes such renowned natural areas
as Straubing-Vilshofen in Germany; the exceptionally
rich wetlands along the Hungarian, Croatian
and Serbian stretches; islands between Bulgaria
and Romania; and the spectacular Danube Delta.
“Political decision makers have set ambitious
goals and made significant progress in finding
sustainable solutions for inland navigation
and protecting the Danube, particularly in
supporting the implementation of the EU’s
Water Framework Directive,” added Dr Bratrich.
“But at the same time, ongoing and planned
projects are threatening the Danube and a
range of valuable benefits and services that
the river provides, from drinking water and
fishing to tourism and recreation.”
The threat is perhaps most acute along a
200km-stretch of the river in Romania, where
dozens of islands are slated for destruction
in the name of shipping. The EU-financed project,
which is now moving forward, will cut off
90 per cent of the migration routes of beluga
sturgeon. It will also destroy valuable bird
resting and breeding area that qualifies for
protection under the EU’s Natura 2000 network
of specially protected sites.
Save the Danube campaign
Through WWF’s Save the Danube – Stop the Canal
campaign, the global conservation organization
and its partners are calling on the EU and
Danube countries to: stop plans and projects
that will turn the Danube into an exclusive
transport corridor; and to develop a comprehensive
solution for sharing the river, not just for
shipping but also for fishing, tourism, agriculture
and biodiversity needs.
WWF also supports the ongoing dialogue process
on shipping on the Danube led by the International
Commission for the Protection of the Danube
River (ICPDR) to find the best environmental
standards for navigation on the Danube.
“Current approaches to promoting shipping
on the Danube are expensive and unnecessary,”
said Michael Baltzer, director of WWF’s Danube-Carpathian
Programme. “They are focused on adapting the
river to ever-deeper ships, rather than promoting
new technologies in ship design, logistics
and communications that can increase shipping
capacities while limiting impacts.
“We must use innovation and proven technology
to fit the ships to the river and not the
river to the ships,” he stressed.
END NOTES:
• The Danube flows west to east through the
following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia,
Slovakia and Ukraine.
Christine Bratrich, Head of Danube/Freshwater
WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme
