MonStur in the Danube – assessing the first year of project implementation

An important event took place recently within the project DRP0301251 “Establishing, testing and launching a transboundary system for Monitoring Sturgeons, to manage and safeguard migratory fish in the Danube River Basin” - MonStur in the Danube – and namely the meeting of partners from 24-25 June in Vienna. The project is carried out within the framework of the Interreg Danube Region Programme 2021-2027, co-funded by the European Union. Find out more about the project – https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/monstur-in-the-danube.

The event was organised by the Austrian project partners – WWF Central and Eastern Europe and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) – and hosted by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management of Austria.

Representatives of the 13 partner institutions, lead partner - the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forest, discussed the overall progress of the project during the first year of project implementation, including the difficulties faced by the partners, the degree of capitalization of the project budget, the involvement of different target groups in the project activities and the ways to mitigate the risks related to achieving the project objectives. The management meeting was assisted by the project officer Guztav Csomor, the Managing Authority of the Interreg Danube Region Programme. The Institute of Zoology of the Moldova State University (MSU) was represented by two members of the implementation team - Dr. Lucia Bilețchi and Dr.hab. Dumitru Bulat.

The program was followed by the 2nd expert workshop, attended by both project partners and invited experts. The guest of the Institute of Zoology team was Dr. Veaceslav Purcic, Associate Professor, Faculty of Biology and Geosciences of MSU. The workshop focused on methods for monitoring sturgeon populations and their habitats – side scanning with sonar for benthic mapping, acoustic telemetry, and analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA). The participants demonstrated the first scientific results of the project, emphasizing the advantages and disadvantages of each research method.

The joint databases developed within the project were also presented and the policy for their use was discussed.

Furthermore, the participants had the opportunity to visit a floating sturgeon breeding station, anchored on the Danube within the limits of Vienna city. It operates within the framework of an international project – LIFEBoat – and is a successful example of international collaboration and public involvement in sturgeon protection.

The MonStur in the Danube project has a total budget of 2,071,966.50 EUR, 80% of which is the contribution of EU, and duration of 36 months (01.04.2025 - 30.03.2028). MSU project coordinator is the Correspondent Member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova Laurenția Ungureanu, Dr.Hab., Professor.

Lucia Bilețchi, Dr., Associate Professor