WWF Danube tour focuses on sustainable utilization of the big European river

published on 10/11/11 1:07 PM

“20 million people in Europe drink water from the Danube”, says Konstantin Ivanov from WWF-Bulgaria

Photo: BGNES

The Bulgarian section of the Danube River is among the most spared from human activities, although in the course of 20 century, almost 80% of the natural habitats and fish resources in the region have been destroyed. The Danube is the second longest European river, its catchment area connecting 20 states. However, the river is facing a number of challenges regarding its biodiversity and sustainable utilization of water resources. During a massive awareness-raising campaign called Danube tour, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) alarmed that the river could turn into a waterway.

“The Danube tour started in Hungary in summer and continued in Bulgaria”, explains Konstantin Ivanov from WWF Bulgaria. “In the last two weeks, we visited the towns and cities on the Danube River, namely Rousse, Silistra, Svishtov, Belene as well as the centres of districts bordering the river, such as Pleven and Veliko Tarnovo. It was young people and students that were most interested in the project. Our tour also covered Slovenia. Albeit the Danube does not flow through Slovenia, the latter belongs to its river basin. Next year our campaign is traveling to Romania and Serbia.”

The members of WWF Bulgaria have committed the last 15 years to the sustainable development of the Danube’s resources, with raising awareness on the issue being a key factor for success. We bring you again Konstantin Ivanov, who explains why the Danube is much more than a transport corridor connecting the European states.

“The river offers us an exceptionally rich biodiversity. One can see in it rare birds such as pelicans or sea eagles. On the other hand, the river is facing a number of challenges, one of them being whether it would turn into a waterway or would continue being a river abounding in wildlife. With that campaign, we tried to show people that their lives depend to a great extent on this river. To that end, we use a model demonstrating what the riverbed actually is and how the water flowing through it is filtered in through the pebbles on the river bottom only to enter, in a purified state, the wells on the two banks. In actual fact, few people realize that if the river didn’t exist, they would have limited access to drinking water. In other words, 20 million people in Europe drink water from the Danube.”

The Bulgarian-Romanian section of the river is free-flowing, because very few riverbed adjustments have been made to aid navigation. Until now, separate sections of the Danube remain inoperable only for 20 days a year due to low waters. As a result of climate change, however, the river is going to be shallow more and more often. “It’s time to think years ahead and take responsible actions”, says Konstantin Ivanov. In this respect, WWF Bulgaria has brought the following issue up for public discussion: should the Danube adjust to the needs of deep-draft vessels, or should European states introduce a new fleet of ships that can navigate in shallower waters?

“It comes down to whether it’s better to invest tens of billions of euro to make the river a waterway with all the consequences for the environment, the access to drinkable water, etc. or to invest much less money in improving the ships navigating along the Danube. If we turn the river into a waterway that will be an advantage to German and Dutch companies using the river as a transit way from the Black sea to inland Europe. In reality, if the Danube becomes a waterway, it won’t have a serious impact on Bulgaria because, for one reason or another, Bulgaria exports very few things via the river”.

English version: Vyara Popova

По публикацията работи: Elena Karkalanova

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