The 12th Danube Academies Conference, organised by the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, took place in Ljubljana from 18 to 20 October 2023. The focus of the event was on pollution problems and challenges arising from climate change.

The conference was opened by Prof. Klaus Mainzer, President of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and by Prof. Peter Štih, President of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Invited speakers were scientists from Germany, Slovenia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Belarus. They presented papers on the anthropogenic impact on water resources, biodiversity loss, heavy metal and microplastics pollution.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ina Aneva, Scientific Secretary of the “Biodiversity, Bioresources and Ecology” Division of BAS, presented a paper on “Biodiversity in the Bulgarian section of the Danube – status, main threats and challenges”.