On 30 November 2016 a side event for stakeholders was organised jointly by PA4 and PA5 in the frame of the Budapest Water Summit 2016.

The event focused on the promotion of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, as a viable platform for cooperation among the 14 countries of Europe covered by the Danube catchment.

5 years of experience has shown the best ways for countries of different interests to successfully cooperate regarding basin wide challenges like preserving/maintaining water quality or improving resilience against the negative effects of climate change (including floods and droughts) by transnational project generation and EU level political influence.

The EU Strategy for the Danube Region also supports strategic issues and one of those is aiming to secure viable populations of Danube sturgeon species. WWF movie called ‘Protect Danube’s treasure‘, supported by LIFE Programme, was introduced in the side event to call the attention not only to the problem of endangered sturgeon species in the Danube but also to the problem of declining species in the World.

Sharing the best practices for water cooperation gained in the frame of the EUSDR could serve the benefit of other transboundary river  basins of the World.