The breath of the Danube

ita eng bhs
13 December 2021

In the Danube basin, climate change is expected to further increase the risk of flooding, especially in the former floodplains, which were drained and cut off from the river to allow human settlement and agriculture. An Interreg project is proposing the restoration of part of this area

Find out more:

Go to the Interreg project DANUBE FLOODPLAIN

Go to the interactive map on the floodplains

Go to the page "Work4Future"

Floodplains
The floodplains of the Danube have not been preserved and, in the event of heavy rainfall, water tends to make up for the space lost in previous years. This photograph by Goran Safarek shows the course of the Danube and a section of the floodplain still preserved.
Who takes care of it?
At EU level, flood management is carried out both at regional and at river basin scale according to the European Directive 2007/60/EC. The challenge is to apply tools and capacities also at the local level. This photo by Peter Gudella shows a street flooded by the Danube in Budapest.
Acting according to nature
The Interreg DANUBE FLOODPLAIN project , which started in 2018 and ended last November, aimed to reduce the risk of flooding in urban areas by reconnecting the river to its floodplains. It developed tools for ministries, river basin authorities and other stakeholders in the Danube basin to restore floodplains. In this 20 June 2013 photo taken by Gelefin, citizens of Szentendre, Hungary, work together to protect the town from flooding.
Benefits for local communities
Thanks to the "Danube Floodplain GIS" instrument, the project identified the most suitable areas for this purpose. These are areas with a natural capacity to retain flood water and, at the same time, a potential to improve biodiversity and provide benefits to local economies, for example through fishing and recreation. In this photo by dpVUE, a shepherd in Tulcesa, Romania.
Nedeia-Jiu
One of the five pilot locations where floodplain restoration measures are being studied is, for example, the Nedeia-Jiu area in Dolj County. "The area was chosen precisely because of the flooding events that took place in 2006 and we are trying to find the best solutions to consolidate the existing works," says Sorin Rindasu, director of the Emergency Situations Department of the Romanian National Water Administration. This photo by Buciuman Marius shows a stretch of the Danube on Romanian territory.
Belene
Another potential floodplain restoration area analysed within the Danube Floodplain project is the Lower Danube around Belene, near the Bulgarian-Romanian border. This photo by Marius Godoi shows a stretch of the great river on the border between the two countries.
Restoration
According to Rinasu, the results of the studies conducted on the pilot sites will, on the one hand, help the implementation process in the pilot areas and, on the other hand, provide experience and recommendations for similar restoration projects in other floodplains along the Danube and its tributaries. A stretch of river photographed by Aaltair in Romania's Dobruja.
Danube floodplains
In this image in light blue the former Danube floodplains, in darker blue the potential floodplains and finally in green the still existing floodplains. The interactive map can be browsed online.
Work4Future
This material is published in the context of the "Work4Future" project co-funded by the European Union (EU). The EU is in no way responsible for the information or views expressed within the framework of the project. Responsibility for the contents lies solely with OBC Transeuropa. In this photograph by Meskolors, sunset in the Danube delta.