River Basins in Europe
10 river basins
concerning
Germany
6 bigger international
basins: Meuse, Rhine,
Ems, Elbe, Oder, Danube
Transboundary
cooperation in
international commissions
or bodies
International river (basin) commissions
• Based on international treaties, e.g.
– Rhine 1999
• International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) has
been established already in 1950
• First convention 1963, updated in 1999
– Elbe 1990
– Danube 1994
• Own budget
– contributions of the countries
• according to e.g. size or share of the basin or population
• Rules of procedure
– regulate voting, preparation of meeting, hiring of staff etc.
• Decisions are not legally binding
– recommendations
– political and public pressure
• Agreed organisational structure
• Example: Rhine
Rhine River Basin
• River Basin
– 200 000 km²
– 58 Mio. inhabitants
– 20 Mio. people drink water
from the Rhine basin
– 800 km of the main stream
are navigable as well as
the bigger tributaries
• 9 States and the EU
– in Germany federal
environment ministry and 8
federal states coordinate
on national level