Danube listed among world's most threatened rivers[de] 

"Over 80% of the original floodplain area along the Danube and its main tributaries has been lost since the beginning of the 19th century," the WWF said in a report, released ahead of World Water Day on 22 March 2007.

The Danube is the only European river to appear in the report, World's Top Rivers at Risk, which is otherwise dominated by Asia with five rivers: Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Ganges and Indus.

"All the rivers in the report symbolise the current freshwater crisis, which we have been signalling for years," said WWF Global Freshwater Programme Director Jamie Pittock.

But unlike other regions of the world, Europe is tied by strict freshwater-quality standards. The EU water framework directive, adopted in 2000, aims to reach "good ecological status" for all of Europe's rivers by 2015.

However, this objective could prove hard to reach for the Danube with over 85% of the area set to miss the target, according to the report.

"Canalisation and construction of dykes and dams over the last 200 years has led to the loss of over 80% of the original floodplain area along the Danube and its main tributaries," the WWF said, increasing the risks of floods in the region. 

And new inland navigation infrastructure projects planned under the EU’s Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) are putting a further 1,000 km of wetlands at risk, stretching from Bavaria in Germany, to Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria, according to the WWF.

"Further canalising the river results not only in loss of biodiversity and wetlands - thereby increasing problems with flood management - but can also draw down water tables, risking access to drinking water for 20 million people in the region," the WWF warned. 

But these environmental objectives may be in conflict with others in the transport sector, in which Europe is trying to take cars off the roads to help solve congestion and related pollution. With its 35,000km of congestion-free network, "inland waterways help businesses to reduce harmful emissions, lower energy consumption and cut noise nuisance", according to Inland Navigation Europe.

On World Water Day, the European Commission is organising a conference  to assess progress made by member states in implementing the EU’s Water Framework Directive and discuss future challenges.

At the conference, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas will present a first implementation report for the directive as well as a new web-based information service on water, the Water Information System for Europe (WISE).