Central and Eastern Europe Community

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Chairs and co-chairs

Biljana Kilibarda

economist

Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology

Sabrija Čadro

Professor

University of Sarajevo

Sara Riade

Consultant

UNCCD

Biljana Kilibarda posted in Central and Eastern Europe Community

há 19 hours atrás Público

Dear colleagues,
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the information regarding the TRANSFER Danube project (InTegRAted moNitoring System For agro-climatic risks within DanubE Region), which was officially launched on 1st April 2025. This marks the beginning of a cross-border initiative aimed at enhancing climate resilience in the agricultural sector throughout the Danube Region.
Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro is one of the official partners in this project.
Implemented within the Interreg Danube Region Programme under the thematic priority “A greener, low-carbon Danube Region”, the project addresses the growing impact of climate change on agriculture. It focuses on analysing emerging patterns of extreme weather events—such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves—and on developing innovative tools and strategies to support sustainable adaptation in the agricultural sector.
A key output of the project will be the development of a transnational Danube e-platform. This platform will serve as an integrated hub of climate, water resources, and agricultural data, providing access to maps, models, good practices, and response strategies. It will also support knowledge transfer and promote cross-border cooperation by offering tools tailored to help stakeholders - especially those in vulnerable crop regions (with a focus on winter wheat and maize) - adapt to the increasing challenges of climate change. In cooperation with partners across the Danube Region, the project will establish a standardised monitoring system for the phenological status of selected agricultural crops. This will form the basis for evaluating crop-specific water balances and yield projections, ultimately strengthening climate resilience in farming communities.
Beyond technological solutions, TRANSFER Danube seeks to raise awareness among policy makers and the private agricultural sector about the long-term effects of climate change on agricultural productivity. The project’s main target groups include local and regional decision-makers, agricultural policy experts, and farmers, all of whom will benefit directly from the project’s outputs. By encouraging transdisciplinary cooperation and improving the dissemination of scientific knowledge, the project aims to increase the impact of climate and agricultural research across the Danube Region. The tools and strategies developed through TRANSFER Danube will not only serve local needs but also offer transferable solutions adaptable to other European regions facing similar climate-related challenges.
The project consortium brings together 11 partners from 9 countries: Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Montenegro, and Austria.
The total project budget is EUR 1,842,379.96, of which EUR 1,473,903.96 is covered by the Interreg Danube Region Programme co-funded by the European Union (more information about the programme: https://interreg-danube.eu/). The project will be implemented over 30 months, running from April 2025 to September 2027.

If you find it interesting, for more information visit project website: https://interreg-danube.eu/projects/TRANSFER-Danube.

Sabrija Čadro posted in Central and Eastern Europe Community

há 5 days atrás Público

How is the drought situation in your country?

Sharing from Bosnia and Herzegovina:
In Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the last recorded rainfall was on May 29th (21 mm) — since then, we’ve had zero precipitation throughout June. This is unprecedented: looking at historical data (Sarajevo-Bjelave, 1949–2024), we have never had a June without any rainfall. The average for June is 88 mm, and even in the driest year (2012), there were still 12 mm.

Similar reports are coming from Serbia, where June was extremely dry, pushing concerns beyond meteorological and hydrological droughts to very clear socio-economic impacts due to expected yield reductions.
This raises important questions for our region:

- How is the situation developing in your countries?
- Are you seeing comparable rainfall deficits and stress on agriculture?
- How are your institutions responding — any new emergency measures, or acceleration of drought adaptation plans?

I would also like to thank my colleague Dr. Ana Vuković Vimić for raising and framing this issue so clearly in our recent discussions; it truly deserves more regional and global attention.
As a region, we often go under the radar in global drought assessments, yet it’s clear that Central and Eastern Europe is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Perhaps this is the right time to strengthen our regional voice and ensure we’re recognized as a drought-prone area in global adaptation dialogues.

Looking forward to hearing your experiences, data and thoughts — let’s exchange and maybe even lay foundations for stronger regional cooperation on drought risk reduction!

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