At a recent international summit of NGOs in Vienna ? preceding the EU Ministerial Meeting of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) ? WWF, together with 18 NGOs, called on Danube Basin countries and the European Commission to ensure that future shipping projects do not destroy the river.
"In contrast to many other European rivers, the Danube and its tributaries have a unique biodiversity," said Michael Baltzer, Conservation Director of WWF’s Danube-Carpathian Programme.
"It is a living lifeline that offers crucial benefits for people, such as drinking water, fisheries, tourism and forests that help flood prevention."
The EU Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) proposes to use the Danube more intensively for inland shipping and so-called "bottlenecks" ? the shallow waters of the Danube with the greatest ecological value are to be modified or destroyed. However, more than 65 per cent of the "bottlenecks" are either existing or potential Natura 2000 sites protected under the EU Habitats Directive.
The work would also affect three national parks ? Dunau Auen in Austria, and Duna-Ipoly and Duna-Drava National Parks in Hungary ? as well as 11 Ramsar wetland sites and one world heritage site in Wachau, Austria along the Danube basin. White pelicans, white-tailed eagles, and sturgeon are some of the species that will be threatened to any development.
WWF and the other NGOs have adopted a resolution that calls for ecologically sensitive implementation of shipping projects along the Danube basin, following the EU Water Framework Directive. It also asks to ensure public participation and to avoid new depth requirements beyond existing legislation. In addition, NGOs are calling for a European Environmental Co-ordinator to be appointed to help protect the environment.
WWF and its partners also urge the government of Ukraine and the European Commission to stop further construction works on the Ukrainian Danube?Black Sea Canal and to restore the damage that has been already done.
Notes:
? In 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. This international agreement aims to protect landscapes of outstanding beauty and variety from destruction and to protect them as world heritage.
Three landscapes on t?e Danube have been declared World Heritage sites: the Danube Delta in Romania, the Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria, and since December 2000, the Wachau Cultural Landscape in Austria.
? The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands was adopted in 1973. It aims at protecting internationally significant wetlands, which host rare or threatened animal or plant species. Most States along the Danube have Ramsar sites.
? On May 11, 2004, the Ukrainian government launched the construction of a canal to aid shipping through the Danube Delta. The government has chosen a route called the Bystroye Canal that will cut through the heart of the Ukrainian Danube Delta Biosphere reserve. Up to eight alternatives have been suggested for the route of the canal, including two endorsed by a special Ramsar and UNESCO mission to the Delta.