Interdisciplinary Research for the Sustainable Development of the Danube River Basin

Sustainable development under conditions of aggravating global climate change is more than a technical or natural science question. It is an all-encompassing, perhaps even wicked, challenge to societies. This calls for adequate research strategies. A problem-driven approach, in particular when dealing with wicked problems, will necessarily have to be interdisciplinary. But interdisciplinarity is more often invoked than carried out successfully because it is challenging to both academic structures and to the knowledge and abilities of researchers. The Danube: Future White Paper, a community-based effort to formulate research needs for the sustainable development of the Danube River Basin, suggested several principles for research. These might serve as starting points for interdisciplinary team formation, one of the challenges researchers of the DRB face. A concerted effort by funding agencies is needed to address the many issues arising from the need to develop the DRB according to the principles of sustainability.