RESEARCH

IAD has an permanent observer status for the ICPDR (internationl Commission for the Protection of the Danube River) Expert Groups (click for the Terms of References of each group or visit for more information www.icpdr.org):

PM (Pressures and Measures Expert Group)
MA (Monitoring and Assessment Expert Group)
RBM (River Basin Management Expert Group selected report) (for more information please contact Janja
Zlatic-Jugovic)
FP (Flood protection Expert Group) and former ECO (Ecological Expert Group selected report) (for more information please contact Ulrich Schwarz)

Research topics:

• Development of ecological river concepts and models
Eco-morphological mapping of the River Danube and its tributaries to identify
areas needing restoration
Preservation or promotion of biodiversity by ecological improvements of the
habitats of threatened and rare species

• Studies of fish-ecology to ensure sustainable fishery practices

• Interactions between river system, floodplains, and wetland areas

• Development and standardization of additional chemical parameters for water
quality monitoring

• Quality management in data acquisition for improved comparability and
evaluation of research

• Mapping of the biological quality of waters according to the saprobic system

• Long-term studies on the development of invertebrate stocks of Danube
ecosystems

• Microbiological and hygienic assessment of the river

• Investigation and mathematical modelling of biological transformations of
material and interactions between river structures, water quality, and
biocoenoses

• Definition of quality targets for local uses of river water on the Middle and Lower
Danube

• Nutrient content and trophic state of the River Danube with special reference to
the delta and the adjacent part of the Black Sea

• Inventory of aquatic vegetation in the delta, in the main channel, and in the
floodplain waters of the River Danube

• Concentrations and ecotoxicity of contaminants in sediments and suspended
solids

• Application of ecological short-term and long-term tests for monitoring
contaminant concentrations and investigation of lethal and chronic impacts on
organisms (bio-accumulation)

• Implementation of automatic bioassay systems for the protection of biocoenoses
and early recognition of pollution spills