Danube Sediment Management - Restoration of the Sediment Balance in the Danube River
In the Danube Basin, an increasing discrepancy between surplus and lack of sediment can be observed. This leads to an increase in flood risks and a reduction of navigation possibilities, hydropower production, and biodiversity. Thus, sediment transport and sediment management are urgent issues, which can only be treated in a transnational basin-wide approach as sediments don’t regard administrative or political borders. The lack of sediment management has been recognized by the ICPDR in the Danube River Basin Management Plan in 2009 and 2015. Thus, the main objective of this project is to improve Water and Sediment Management as well as the morphology of the Danube River.
To close existing knowledge gaps, sediment data collection will be performed providing information to the sediment data analysis and will lead to a handbook on good practices of sediment monitoring methods. Furthermore, a baseline document on the Danube Sediment Balance will be prepared, which explains the problems which arise with sediment discontinuity negatively influencing flood risk, inland navigation, ecology, and hydropower production. Possible answers to these problems will be provided by a catalog of measures. The main outputs of the project are the first Danube Sediment Management Guidance comprising measures to be implemented and a Sediment Manual for the stakeholders consisting of approaches how to implement the measures, which deliver key contributions to the Danube River Basin Management Plan and the Danube Flood Risk Management Plan.
By better and sustainable sediment management in the Danube Basin, improved navigation conditions, reduced flood risks, enhanced ecological status, and durable hydropower production will be obtained. Furthermore, International Stakeholder Workshop, training 100 experts, will be organized to reach the target groups and users of the project results as well as to establish an efficient interaction with them.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Hungary) and Ministry of Waters and Forests (Romania) as institutes responsible for EUSDR PA5 coordination are Associated Strategic Partners in the Danube sediment project in order to ensure its implementation in line with EUSDR needs and to support decision-making level related to sediment management.
Number of Partners: 28 (12 ERDF, 2 IPA, 14 ASP)
Project Budget: 3 558 581,62 EUR
Funded by: INTERREG Danube Transnational Programme; Programme co-funded by the European Union
Project Duration: 01/01/2017 – 30/06/2019
Project Lead Partner: Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary)
Contact Person: Barbara Kéri, project manager
Contact Details: keri.barbara@epito.bme.hu
