New weirs in the old Danube riverbed may reduce the capacity of the river to cope with floods. (source: Sme - Marko Erd)
“Dumping a few pebbles” in the Danube riverbed.
Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba’s description of a controversial Hungarian project to dam Europe’s second longest river was dismissed by many conservationists as soon as he uttered the words in early September.
Since then, the Insula Magna project has been heavily criticised by both Slovak and international environmentalists who have warned it could wreak devastation on the Slovak part of the Danube, and have raised concerns that it is being discussed behind closed doors.
“We are currently observing with great concern the latest developments in international negotiations which are heading towards the damming of the original Danube riverbed at four locations,” the Slovak arm of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Slovakia) said in a statement on September 17, signed by Slovak and foreign experts and conservationists.
The project would see four weirs, or impoundment structures, built on the old Danube riverbed. WWF Slovakia claims that together with the existing weir at Dunakiliti, Hungary, these barriers would create a cascade of structures in the Danube riverbed which would impound water upstream, effectively stopping any flow of water in those places, leaving it almost stagnant.
The aim of the project, the people behind it claim, is to reestablish the lateral connectivity of the Danube and re-connect the river’s arms with the riverbed and increase groundwater level.
“Considering the latest scientific and practical findings from both Slovak and international experts, the proposed solution is inappropriate and highly detrimental,” WWF Slovakia’s statement reads. “It would significantly damage the main water management functions of the river Danube, increase the risk of catastrophic floods, result in the loss of 40 km of free-flowing river, and destroy the unique river ecosystem of its inland delta.”
In this article you will find out
-what the long-running dispute between Slovakia and Hungary over the Gabčíkovo is about
-what building dams will do to the Danube’s old riverbed
-what the opposition thinks of the project
The location for the structures falls within the border stretch of the Danube between Slovakia and Hungary and therefore needs approval from Slovakia.
