The 42nd Meeting of the Monitoring and Assessment Expert Group (MA EG) under the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) was held in Zagreb. Croatia last hosted this meeting ten years ago, and the event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Nature Protection and Green Transition, Croatian Waters, and the Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute.

Representatives from 18 Danube countries discussed the latest findings and practices in water quality monitoring. Special emphasis was placed on the Fifth Joint Danube Survey (JDS5) – the largest scientific survey of the Danube River and one of the most comprehensive in the world, being conducted throughout 2025. Most of the planned samples have already been collected, and laboratory analyses are currently underway. The results will be compiled in a report expected in early summer 2026. The report from the previous survey, JDS4, conducted in 2019, is available at the provided link.

In addition to the JDS5 topic, participants exchanged experiences regarding the network of transnational monitoring stations, risk and surface water status assessment, and management of transboundary water bodies. Croatia was represented at the meeting by Tina Miholić (Croatian Waters) and Dr Igor Stanković and Dr Nikola Hanžek (Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute).

The next MA EG meeting is planned to be held online at the end of March 2026, while the authors of the JDS5 report will have an in-person working meeting in February in Vienna.