Thank You for Joining Our Second Webinar “Greening the Danube Region”

On 19 October 2026, D-CLEAN held the second in its series of six webinars, “Greening the Danube Region – Identifying Nature-Based Solutions for Wastewater and Stormwater Management in Small Settlements.” Building on the findings of our first webinar, the session shifted the focus from challenges to solutions.

The session, moderated by Katerina Schilling (Secretary General, IAWD), included:

• From Challenges to Solutions: Nature-Based Solutions for Small Settlements. Primož Skrt (Global Water Partnership Central and Eastern Europe) looked back at the regional assessment. Around 60,000 settlements in the Danube Region have fewer than 2,000 residents, home to about 17.4 million people. He also presented the results of the stakeholder needs assessment and showed how they shaped the D-CLEAN Catalogue of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), which can be found in the D-CLEAN library.

• Exploring the D-CLEAN Catalogue of Nature-Based Solutions. Alba Canet (Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control, BOKU University, Vienna) presented NBS for wastewater treatment, such as treatment wetlands, willow systems and hybrid or aerated systems. She also introduced the multi-criteria comparison, which weighs treatment performance against land, skills and energy requirements. Matej Radinja (Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana) presented NBS for stormwater management, such as bioretention systems, rain gardens and infiltration basins.

• Interactive breakout discussions. Participants exchanged experiences on “Which NBS solutions are most relevant for your local context?”, looking at the most pressing wastewater and stormwater challenges, the most promising solutions, barriers to implementation, and the support municipalities and utilities need.

Key takeaways:

• There is no single “best” nature-based solution. Each balances treatment performance against land use, operational skills and energy needs, so the right choice depends on local conditions.

• Many solutions deliver benefits beyond treatment, including water reuse, flood and combined sewer overflow mitigation, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

We sincerely thank our presenters, our moderator, and all attendees for their active participation and thoughtful contributions in the breakout groups!

Missed the webinar or want to revisit the presentations?
The recording and presentations are now available:

• From Challenges to Solutions: Nature-Based Solutions for Small Settlements – Primož Skrt

• Nature-Based Solutions for Wastewater – Alba Canet

• Nature-Based Solutions for Stormwater – Matej Radinja

• D-CLEAN 2nd Webinar “Greening the Danube Region” Recording:

Stay tuned for the next sessions in our webinar series as we continue to explore innovative, sustainable solutions for wastewater and stormwater management in small settlements across the Danube Region.