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Danube Day gave all river basin
nations the chance to imagine a cleaner Danube for future generations. |
Thirteen Danube Basin countries celebrated, with over 100 activities at
one of the biggest parties the area has seen. The mammoth festival honoured
the Danube and the rivers that flow into it, as well as the peoples of the
region and the wildlife that find refuge there. Danube Day mobilised thousands
to explore the richness of the region, to get involved and to think about
how their actions impact neighbours. The theme ”Bridge to the Future”
spread through discussion forums, concerts, cycling tours, conservation
tasks and an international school competition.
Connecting a basin
”Success in restoring and protecting the Danube River and its tributaries
must begin with a public understanding of being connected to this great
river basin,” said Philip Weller, Executive Secretary of the ICPDR.
Danube Day celebrated the huge advances in international
cooperation that have risen from the Danube River Protection Convention.
The ICPDR had more reason to cheer, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, the only
remaining non-member, plans to sign up this year. Bringing Bosnia and Herzegovina
into the convention has an incredible impact on the entire river basin.
“Across Europe, our Danube River is bringing together
people and organisations,” said Dr Halász Rudolf, Director
of the Lower Danube Valley Environmental and Water Management Authority
in Hungary. “This is a very
important event in terms of our European identity.”
Everyone’s responsibility
Celebrations also focused on the future and efforts to preserve the river
for centuries to come. ”We want to ensure that all peoples of the
Danube share in the celebration of being part of the Danube Basin,”
said Catherine Day, Director General for DG Environment of the European
Commission and current President of the ICPDR, "and at the same time
share the responsibility to protect this river and its ecosystems.”
At the official experts meeting in Vienna, Day praised the successes, but
went on to describe Danube Day as "a day to acknowledge the challenges
ahead and to mobilise the energy and resources for meeting those challenges”.
Inspiring future generations
Many festivities were geared toward getting children involved in their communities.
As tomorrow’s leaders, children were an important part of the day
and a major Danube Day theme was to encourage the next generation of planners,
ship workers, water managers, farmers and industrialists to consider the
people and wildlife that depend on rivers. The grand scale and transboundary
nature of Danube Day created a sense of ‘Danube solidarity’
between individuals, organisations, communities and countries. The shared
responsibility of protecting the Danube and its resources, despite differing
cultures and histories, will secure the environmental future of the most
important waterway in Western Europe. Danube Day is an initiative of the
ICPDR and UNDP/GEF Danube Regional Project. The organisers would like to
thank the government representatives, non-governmental bodies, scientists,
academics, schools and businesses that made Danube Day such a success. Following
are just a few glimpses into the engaging and memorable celebrations across
the basin. A complete collection of experiences from all countries will
be published in an upcoming brochure.