Abstract
The EU Water Framework Directive requires that EU Member States implement the necessary measures within their river basin districts to achieve good status of water bodies by 2015. Nutrient pollution is a priority challenge in the Danube River Basin District, interlinking the freshwater with the marine environment – approximately 65% of the Danube River length was categorised as being at risk due to nutrient pollution. Eutrophication is of major concern in the Danube Region and especially in the receiving Western Black Sea. The ecological situation in the Black Sea has improved considerably in the last decade (reduced eutrophication, disappearance of anoxic conditions, regeneration of zoo-benthos and phytoplankton); however, the improvement was only partly due to the effect of measures like nutrient removal at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or the ban of P-containing laundry detergents, as it was also to a considerable part due to the economic crises in Danube countries. The nutrient loads are thus still well above the levels of the 1960s; current evidence shows the need to develop newer solutions and to prepare nutrient management strategies to effectively reduce nutrients in the Danube River systems. The assessment of measures related to farming practices and land use management undertaken until end of 2012 provided information on declining trends of nitrogen surplus in all member states in the DRB. The measures related to farming practices and land use management consist most commonly of technical measures to reduce negative impacts caused by agriculture, such as input reduction measures, measures addressing diffuse pollution concerning both fertiliser and pesticide use, livestock farming-oriented measures focusing on the reduction of impacts from animal rearing, the use of manure as a fertiliser, changes in crop production practices as well as improving drainage systems.
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Abbreviations
- AEM:
-
Agri-environmental measures
- BAP:
-
Best agricultural practices
- BAT:
-
Best available techniques
- BSC:
-
Black Sea Commission
- CAP:
-
Common Agricultural Policy
- CIS:
-
Common Implementation Strategy for the Water Framework Directive
- CP:
-
Contracting Party
- daNUbs:
-
Nutrient Management in the Danube Basin and its Impact on the Black Sea
- DPRP:
-
Danube Pollution Reduction Programme
- DRB:
-
Danube River Basin
- DRBD:
-
Danube River Basin District
- DRBMP:
-
Danube River Basin Management Plan
- DRP:
-
Danube Regional Project
- DRPC:
-
Danube River Protection Convention
- DRS:
-
Danube Region Strategy of the European Commission
- EU:
-
European Union
- EUSDR:
-
EU Strategy for the Danube Region
- FAO:
-
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations
- FAOSTAT:
-
Database of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
- GAEC:
-
Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition
- GEF:
-
Global Environment Facility
- GEP:
-
Good Ecological Potential
- GES:
-
Good Ecological Status
- GIS:
-
Geographical Information System
- HMWB:
-
Heavily Modified Water Body
- ICPDR:
-
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
- MONERIS:
-
Modelling Nutrient Emissions into River Systems
- MoU:
-
Memorandum of Understanding
- MS:
-
EU Member State
- N:
-
Nitrogen
- NAP:
-
National Action Plan
- ND:
-
Nitrates Directive (Directive 91 /676/EEC)
- NSP:
-
National Strategy Plan
- NVZ:
-
Nitrate Vulnerable Zone
- OM:
-
Ordinary Meeting
- P:
-
Phosphorus
- POM:
-
Programmes of Measures
- RBD:
-
River Basin District
- RBM:
-
River Basin Management
- RBMP:
-
River Basin Management Plan
- RBN:
-
River Basins Network
- RDP:
-
Rural Development Programme
- RDR:
-
Rural Development Regulation
- SMR:
-
Statutory Management Requirement
- SWG:
-
Standing Working Group
- SWMI:
-
Significant Water Management Issue
- UNDP:
-
United Nations Development Programme
- UWWTD:
-
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Directive 91/271/EEC)
- WFD:
-
Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC)
- WWTP:
-
Waste Water Treatment Plant
References
The Danube River Basin District (2005) Part A – Basin-wide overview. ICPDR Publication IC/084, Vienna, Austria, 2005. http://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/danube-basin-analysis-report-2004
Danube River Basin District Management Plan (2009) ICPDR Publication IC/151, Vienna, Austria, 2009. http://www.icpdr.org/main/activities-projects/danube-river-basin-management-plan-2009
Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment Blueprint
Council Directive 91/676/EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy
Communication from the Commission to the European parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. A Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources. COM/2012/0673 final
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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Popovici, M. (2014). Nutrient Management in the Danube River Basin. In: Liska, I. (eds) The Danube River Basin. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 39. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2014_311
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2014_311
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