About Danube +
WWF and The Coca-Cola Company Europe Group have been working in close proximity with The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), a transnational body, which has been established to implement the Danube River Protection Convention. The ICPDR works to safeguard the Danube's water resources for future generations, achieve naturally balanced waters free from excess nutrients and sustain a healthy river system.
The Danube flows through 10 countries and four European capitals, and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 countries. An estimated 83 million people live in the Danube River Basin today and more than 20 million people depend directly on the Danube for their drinking water. Flowing 2,857 km from Germany's Black Forest to the Danube Delta and into the Black Sea, the Danube is recognized by the European Commission as the "single most important non-oceanic body of water in Europe" and a "future central axis for the European Union".
The Danube basin is home to a diverse system of natural habitats. Among these are Germany's Black Forest, the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, the Hungarian Puszta Plains, the Bulgarian islands and the giant reed beds and marshes of the Danube Detla. These habitats are home to a rich and unique biological diversity and species. The Danube River Basin has more than 100 different species of fish - including five sturgeon species - and it is home to rare birds like the White Pelican, White Tailed Eagle and Black Stork.
The Danube + website was created in order to engaging the public about the Danube River and to encourage a broad movement for Danube conservation.
About WWF
As a global conservation organization, WWF is one of the world's largest, working in 100 countries. Since the Danube has lost 80 percent of its former wetlands, and with them the most biologically productive areas and essential ecosystem services - from flood protection to water purification - WWF's efforts on the Danube have focused on wetland restoration to demonstrate the benefits of wetland systems, provide guidance on how to restore wetlands throughout the Danube basin, as well as provide critical habitat for the Danube's rich flora and fauna. The WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme gratefully acknowledges funding support from the European Commission. All content and opinions expressed on these pages are solely those of WWF.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Water is the primary ingredient in every beverage the company makes and it is vital to the health and well-being of the communities Coca Cola serves. The Coca Cola Company's ultimate goal is to replenish the water it uses in all of its beverages and their production. In 2007, the Danube River became one of seven major river basins selected to undergo freshwater conservation work as part of the WWF - Coca Cola global partnership.
About ICPDR
The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) works to ensure the sustainable and equitable use of waters and freshwater resources in the Danube River Basin. The work of the ICPDR is based on the Danube River Protection Convention, the major legal instrument for cooperation and transboundary water management in the Danube River Basin.