Expert conference "Partnership for the Alte Donau"

From 2013 to 2018, the EU project LIFE+ Alte Donau focused on developing and safeguarding the Alte Donau urban lake. At a conference in Vienna, experts took stock.

With a surface area of about 1.6 square kilometres, the Alte Donau (Old Danube) urban lake is among the largest urban lakes in Europe. In recent years, increasing user pressure and climate change have become major challenges for Alte Donau.

The measures implemented under the EU project LIFE+ Alte Donau since 2013 aim to sustainably safeguard Alte Donau both as an ecologically valuable habitat and as a local recreation area.

The conference held in Vienna on 17 and 18 May under the motto "Partnership for the Alte Donau" marked the conclusion of the five-year project. The event provided a platform for expert discussion and was attended by an audience of around 80 selected specialist delegates, including a representative from the EU Commission.

Event details

• Date: 17 to 18 May 2018
• Venue: Tech Gate Vienna, 22., Donau-City-Straße 1

Programme

17 May 2018

• Morning session:
  • The history of the Alte Donau
  • Development in terms of hydrology and water management
  • Development of water quality in the Alte Donau
  • The function of macrophytes
  • Water and nutrient balance
  • The LIFE+ Alte Donau project (2013 to 2018): original situation - goals - measures - milestones
  • Public relations work for the LIFE+ project
• Afternoon session:
  • Near-natural riparian habitats for the Alte Donau
  • The biological filter bed at the Water Park
  • Biocoenosis management - encouraging low-growing underwater plants
  • Biocoenosis management - GPS-supported mowing schedules
  • Mowing management 2018
  • Local recreation areas and socio-economic aspects
  • Integrated water management
  • The Alte Donau as a habitat for beavers
  • The Alte Donau as a habitat for fish
  • The Alte Donau as a habitat for invertebrates
  • The dragonfly fauna of the Alte Donau
• Discussion and conclusion

18 May 2018

Field trip to the Alte Donau

The LIFE+ Alte Donau project was funded under the LIFE+ Programme of the European Union as part of the "Environment Policy and Governance" strand.