Posted on abril, 25 2006

Vienna, Austria – The ongoing flooding of the Danube in Romania is the result of bad land use planning and mismanagement along the entire length of the river, according to WWF.

When natural retention zones are lost on the upper reaches of the river, the problem simply gets transferred further downstream, with increased impacts and damage, as is now being experienced in Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Bulgaria.

“Recent breaks in dykes on the Danube in Romania, which are forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in southern Romania, underline the limitations of traditional approaches to flood management, such as dykes and dams," said Christine Bratrich, head of WWF's Danube-Carpathian Freshwater Programme.

”An integrated and internationally coordinated approach to flood management that works with nature, not against it, is needed for flood security along the entire length of the river."

As a result of man-made changes, including channeling and construction of dykes and dams for navigation and traditional flood management, the Danube River has lost 15,000–20,000km² of floodplains since the 19th century, with less than 19 per cent of the former flood plains remaining.

“The EU’s new Floods Directive could provide the kind of integrated approach to flood management that is needed for flood security in future, but it will very much depend on the way that the legislation is implemented,” said Bratrich.

In implementing the new EU Floods Directive, the European Commission and EU member states must ensure stronger coordination with other EU legislation, especially the EU Water Framework Directive, which promotes an integrated approach to river basin management. Implementation of the Directive must also make economics work for the environment, for example, by ensuring that economic activities in flood risk areas bear the costs of flood defense measures.

In implementing the Floods Directive, the European Commission and EU member states should also promote other flood mitigating measures, such as through the maintenance and restoration of floodplain areas, which can soak up and thus limit the impact of floodwaters.

In 2000, the governments of Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Moldova signed a declaration to restore more than 220,000ha of former floodplains along the Lower Danube – roughly the storage capacity that is now missing on the lower Danube, where some 200,000ha are now under water.

“By moving forward on implementation of the Lower Danube Green Corridor, the governments of Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine have a real opportunity to set a landmark in European flood protection policy, with a win-win situation for people and nature, but only if they take action now,” stressed Bratrich.

END NOTES:

• According to news reports, at least 2,500 people have been forced to evacuate their homes following several breaks in dykes on the Danube in Romania. More evacuations are expected. Disaster response teams are planning to evacuate approximately 9,000 people from their homes. Sections of dyke have given way along the Danube in southern Romania near the communities of Bistret, Dabuleni, Sarata and Oltina. A 20m section of dyke gave way near Bistret, flooding at least 4 villages and 24,000ha of land, reported the TV channel Realitatea.

For further information:
Christine Bratrich, Head of Freshwater
WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme
Tel: +43-676 842728215
Email: cbratrich@wwfdcp.org

Andreas Beckmann, Deputy Director
WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme
Tel: +43 676 842728 216
Email: abeckmann@wwfdcp.org