http://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/ides
Improving water quality in the Danube river and its tributaries by integrative floodplain management based on Ecosystem Services
A new European project called IDES was launched with the support of the Interreg Danube Transnational Program. The project aims to develop and implement a transnational integrative ecosystem service approach to improve water quality management and thus create favorable conditions for multifunctional floodplains.
More than 20 institutions from 10 countries along the Danube (Germany, Austria, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Moldova) participate in the project. Hungary is represented as a supported partner by the Central Tisza Region Water Management Directorate (CTRWMD), and as a strategic partner, GDWM[1] is also involved in the implementation.
Rivers and their floodplains have a complex role and function: they serve as shipping routes and recreational areas, they provide protection against floods, and last but not least, the habitat of plants and animals. All these different uses are planned and regulated by the competent technical authorities at different administrative levels, which makes it difficult to maintain and coordinate management measures.
The aim of the IDES project is to develop a comprehensive vision that takes this important aspect into account. The participating researchers will focus on five sample areas (pilot areas) in Austria, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Hungary. In these regions, efforts will be made to develop in close cooperation with decision - makers, an integrated approach to floodplain management that makes the diverse and reciprocal ecosystem services of floodplains transparent, as a basis for future management of such areas.
The IDES tool should enable national key players in water quality management to identify sustainable measures without neglecting the needs of other sectors. The innovative IDES tool provides an assessment of floodplain ecosystem services, both in pilot areas and at transnational level, which also supports sustainable decision-making in floodplain management.
Duration of the project: 01.07.2020 – 31.12.2022.
EU amount (ERDF, ENI, IPA): EUR 1.95 million
Translated by: Attila Kádár, International Department, General Directorate of Water Management of Hungary
[1] General Directorate of Water Management in Hungary