What we want

Save the living Danube

We are not against shipping per se. Shipping is one legitimate and increasingly important use of the river – but by far not the only one. Plans for the river must take into account the many environmental and other services and benefits that the river provides, from flood protection and water purification to biological diversity.

Although inland navigation is assumed to be an environmentally friendly mode of transport, it will be sustainable only if both global impacts (greenhouse gas emissions) and local ones (on ecosystems and their services) are considered, and a right balance between navigation and other river uses is achieved.

We are against damaging infrastructure developments, against outdated, one-sided engineering practices, and against unsustainable and narrow solutions that fail to consider a comprehensive assessment of needs.

Administrative bottlenecks such as those caused by insufficient or inefficient harbour management should be addressed before making physical alterations to the river.  There are examples of innovative technologies and projects that can be implemented if a political will exists and is mobilized, e.g. better ship technologies, river information systems, and win-win projects that improve navigation conditions and local environmental situation by reconnecting river with its floodplain areas.

We support inland navigation on the Danube as long as plans and projects:

• Have clear positive effects on river ecosystems, basin-wide and locally;
• Are environmentally sustainable;
• Respect socio-economic needs, in particular of local and regional communities;
• Meet all legal requirements, e.g. the Water Framework Directive.

To achieve these goals, 6 principles should be followed.