The Danube is the second largest river of Europe, and its catchment covers substantial
parts of 13 European countries. The river discharges into the Black Sea, which is a water
body extremely sensitive to eutrophication problems. Mismanagement of nutrients in the Danube
Basin has led to severe ecological problems, both in the catchment and in the receiving
marine waters. In the 1990s, the Danube River nutrient loads have decreased, partly due to the
collapse of the central and eastern European economies following 1989. The project “Nutrient
Management in the Danube Basin and its Impact on the Black Sea” (EU 5th Framework Programme,
acronym daNUbs, 20012004)
has developed a number of scenarios for the future development
of the nutrient emissions and the Danube River nutrient loads. The present paper describes
these scenarios and formulates the conclusions towards the future nutrient management.
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