Slovenia officially takes over Presidency of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River

23. 1. 2025

Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning

Slovenia took over the presidency of the commission that protects the world's most international river basin last December, at the regular meeting of the commission's contracting parties. At today's ceremony, which was organised by the Secretariat of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), Slovenia officially took over the presidency in the presence of high representatives of Danube countries. The ICPDR, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has significantly contributed to improved cross-border cooperation in reducing water pollution, reducing flood risk and improving the ecological status in the Danube River Basin.

Slovenia officially took over the presidency in the presence of high representatives of Danube countries | Author International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River

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Slovenia is very active in this process and is valued in the international community, in particular for its proactive role in fostering cross-border cooperation in the Sava River Basin and establishing the International Sava River Basin Commission.

Two key achievements of this cooperation were the setting-up of a cross-border Early Flood Warning System and a modern Protocol on Sustainable Navigation, which is based on considering railway and cycling path connections and tourism in planning the sustainable use of water resources in the international Sava River Basin. Special attention is devoted to the inclusion of young people through the Sava Youth Parliament. In the Mura River Basin, Slovenia and Austria achieved an outstanding improvement in the Mura's ecological status, which made it possible to establish the UNESCO Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve. In the Drava River Basin, Slovenia and Austria were among the first in Europe to declare a joint groundwater body (the Karavanke groundwater body), with the aim of preserving healthy water resources for future generations.

The goal of the Slovenian ICPDR Presidency in 2025 is to build on the aforementioned achievements through additional activities to increase the resilience of river basins by using the source-to-sea approach, including by reducing the pressures and impacts on the endangered Black Sea and Mediterranean. In order to achieve this goal, Slovenia has already established close cooperation between the Secretariats of the Danube River Protection Convention, the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution and the Barcelona Convention.

The first event under the Slovenian Presidency will be an awards ceremony for Slovenian primary and secondary school students who participated in the Danube Art Master competition organised by the ICPDR and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) Slovenia. The ceremony will be held next week, on 30 January 2025, at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning.