News & events

Two saIloRs kIllEd IN daNubE collIsIoN

An Austrian tugboat, Linz 2, and a Romanian barge, Andreea, collided on November 14 near the Romanian port of Calarasi. The 807-ton barge sank with two sailors aboard. The Romanian sailors missing since the accident, Marian Cetenici, 46, and Viorel Panturu, 42, were confirmed dead. Authorities closed the river section where the accident occurred, but strong currents on the Danube slowed rescue and cleanup efforts. The cause of the accident is unknown, and an investigation is underway.

For more information, please visit: www.mediafax.ro

EuRoPE losINg bIodIvERsITy

At the World Conservation Congress held in Spain, the European Environment Agency presented a study of protected species and habitats. Based on the 2007 country reports submitted to the EC, the analysis states that less than half the protected species and habitats in Europe have ‘favourable conservation status’. Most of the remaining species and habitats have ‘inadequate or bad’ status. European states are bound by international and European agreements to share data on protected areas.

For more information, please visit: www.eea.europa.eu

EuRoPEaN baThINg waTER MaP PoRTal oPEN

The European Environment Agency (EEA) and Microsoft have launched a new environmental information portal ‘Water Watch’, displaying the latest information on water quality in bathing sites across Europe and allowing users to rate beaches and make comments. The application retrieves information from more than 21,000 monitoring points across Europe. Water Watch is the first application developed as part of the ‘Eye on Earth’ partnership between Microsoft and the EEA.

For more information, please visit: www.eyeonearth.eu

NEw book oN gRouNdwaTER RElEasEd

The International Water Association has published a new book, entitled Groundwater Management in Large River Basins, which reviews the stateof-the-art of groundwater management in large river basins, providing an innovative approach with technical tools for planners, decision makers and engineers. The book, edited by Milan Dimkic, Heinz-Jurgen Brauch and Michael Kavanaugh, provides comprehensive coverage of the basic elements of groundwater management in large river basins.

Please visit: www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm

16–22/3/2009 IsTaNbul, TuRkEy

5Th woRld waTER FoRuM

The World Water Forum, one of the largest global events in the water sector, is organised by the World Water Council every 3–4 years, and attracts thousands of participants from governments, non-governmental organisations and international organisations. The theme of the form, “Bridging Divides for Water”, emphasises the need for greater interaction, communication and functional harmonisation of the various entities involved in or affected by water management.

For more information, please visit: www.worldwaterforum5.org

2–3/4/2009 bRussEls, bElgIuM

sEcoNd EuRoPEaN waTER coNFERENcE 2009

Organised by the European Commission, the conference will serve as preparation toward meeting the December 2009 deadline for EU Member States to establish the first River Basin Management Plans. The conference will highlight key issues of implementing the EU Water Framework Directive, and European stakeholder representatives will be invited to give their first feedback on the draft River Basin Management Plans.

For more information, please visit:
www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/events/2nd-european-water-conference-2009

20–23/4/2009 vIENNa, ausTRIa

sEcoNd hydRoEco coNFERENcE 2009

The Second International Multidisciplinary Conference on Hydrology and Ecology (HydroECO) brings together engineers and researchers from engineering and ecological disciplines to share information on the interactions between groundwater, surface water and ecology. The conference is organised by the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria; the International Commission on Groundwater, of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences; and the Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic.

For more information, please visit:
www.natur.cuni.cz/hydroeco2009

3–5/7/2009 alExaNdRouPolIs – ThRacE, gREEcE

sEcoNd INTERNaTIoNal coNFERENcE oN waTER EcoNoMIcs, sTaTIsTIcs, aNd FINaNcE

Access to water and sanitation will be the focus at a conference organised by the International Water Association Statistics & Economics Specialist Group with the cooperation and sponsorship of the Department of Environmental Engineering of the Democritus University of Thrace and the Department of Economics of the University of Crete. The conference will highlight the economic, financial and statistical aspects of water and sanitation, and will contribute to the transfer of knowledge from research to practice covering the entire water cycle.

For more information, please visit:
www.soc.uoc.gr/iwa/iwa_page.php?IWAdoc

 Next: The entire Danube River Basin working together as one