The Danube rivers are more than just water! They are life, power, food, water, transport and recreation. The Danube wetlands control pollution, cleaning up toxins in the water. The rivers are a commercial link across Europe and a unifying force bringing together communities with different cultures, languages and histories. The rivers are rivers of life, providing livelihoods and a haven for wildlife.

The Danube rivers are of utmost importance to Europe’s wildlife. Along with groundwater, floodplains, forests and meadows, they are home to a huge variety of species. Not only are these interdependent, but so too are the people living in the Basin who are wholly reliant on the river and its wildlife.

Over the last century, the Danube and its wildlife have suffered considerable losses. The basin is now left with only about 20% of its former floodplain area, only half of which is in anything like near-natural condition. The remaining floodplains, along with thousands of lakes and ponds, still form an essential network of feeding, resting and breeding areas for fish and birds, including seriously threatened animals e.g. the Black Stork, the White-tailed Eagle, the Dalmatian Pelican and the Danube Sturgeon. The wetlands also act as the ‘kidneys’ of the basin, cleaning up harmful pollutants.

Of utmost importance is the Danube Delta – a colourful patchwork of river arms, lakes, reed-beds, dunes, and salt marsh - the culmination of the river’s 2,845 km journey to the Romanian-Ukrainian border.

With its 75 species of fish (including Sturgeon) and several globally threatened bird species (such as Pygmy Cormorants, Red-breasted Geese and two species of Pelicans), the Danube Delta ranks among the top wildlife sites in the world.