The Danube river survey - a major CEPA event (13/08/07)

Good morning CEPA people:

An interesting initiative from the Danube River basin shows how to turn a technical expedition bringing real benefits to river basin conservation into an effective public event.

A joint Danube river survey is being coordinated by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) that will provide the scientific evidence for effective decision-making in water resource management for the Danube. Beginning tomorrow, August 14th, three boats will make the 2,375 km trip down the Danube passing through 10 countries and finally arriving in the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine to complete the survey on September 27th. The scientists on board will be testing the water for pollution and waste and seeing what organisms depend on the river for their lives.

The boats will be stopping at a number of cities along the way and preparations have already been made with the media networks so that there will be good news coverage of the visits, with both local media and residents being able to visit the boats and learn more about the expedition. In addition to this, the ICPDR invites everyone with web access to join in the journey by logging into the online logbook provided here http://www.icpdr.org/jds/. This web page also provides good general information on the cooperative cross-border work being done in the Danube.

Best wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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