Arhiva Drava Life - Page 4 of 5

Drava LIFE project partners, ornithologists and other nature conservation experts, regional development and tourism sector in Nature Park Kopački rit./Projektni partneri Drava LIFE projekta, ornitolozi i ostali stručnjaci iz sektora zaštite prirode, regionalnog razvoja i sektora turizma u Parku prirode Kopački rit.

Drava LIFE workshops and excursion in Nature Park Kopački Rit

14/11/2017/in Nekategorizirano /by bspanicek

Kopački Rit, Croatia – Within the Drava LIFE project WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) organized three days of workshops from November 6-8 with an excursion into the Nature park Kopački Rit. Experts from the nature conservation and tourism sector, the Departments of nature protection of the Public Institutions of the counties along Drava, the Croatian Agency for Environment and Nature (protected area authorities, international experts of an Austrian integrative landscape planning office (REVITAL), ornithologists from Austria and Croatia as well as NGO representatives and Drava LIFE project partners attended the workshops.

The first workshop on the „Natura 2000 Drava Management Strategy“ was held on Monday and the participants discussed about the objectives and strategies on topics related to flood protection, agriculture, forestry and woods, protection of Natura 2000 sites, tourism, monitoring and education of visitors.

On the second day, participants discussed about a „Nature Visitor Guidance Plan for Drava“. The goal ist to develop an overall concept for the nature-friendly use of the Natura 2000 sites at the Drava in Croatia with regard to sustainable tourism and recreation. Renata Forjan, Head of Department for Visitors’ Management guided all the participants to boat cruising along the channels of Kopački Rit, showed them the interactive information center and had a presentation about visitor guidance and green tourism in Kopački Rit. Jasmin Sadiković, coordinator of Drava LIFE project and CEO of Green Osijek had a presentation afterwards about the Eco centre Zlatna Greda and grassroot initiatives in nature conservation.

On the last day the participants discussed about an „Action plan for river birds“ within the planned cross-border UNESCO biosphere reserve „Mura-Drava-Danube“ stretching across five countries. Objectives and actions for the protection of gravel and steep bank breeders like little tern, bee-eater or sand martin along Drava have been defined. After the workshop, the local ornithologist Tibor Mikuška led all the participants to birdwatching areas along the dams of Kopački Rit where they observed flocks of migrating geylag geese and other waterfowl species.

Kopački Rit represents one of the most significant tourist destinations in the continental part of Croatia with all its beauty and ecological value. For more pictures visit our photo gallery.

The results of the workshops will be proceeded and the draft will be finalized in the upcoming months within the working groups. Two additional workshops will be held for Visitors Guidance Plan.

Field trip on Drava river/Terenski obilazak rijeke Drave

Drava Life workshop on reintroduction of German tamarisk and Dwarf cattail on Drava river

03/10/2017/in Nekategorizirano /by bspanicek

Legrad, Croatia – Within the DRAVA LIFE project, the reintroduction of two riverine plants, German tamarisk (Myricaria germanica) and Dwarf cattail (Typha minima) is planned on several locations along the Drava river in Croatia. A two-day workshop was held in Legrad on 26 and 27 September 2017 and was attended by experts from Croatia, Hungary and Austria. The group learned about good examples of successful reintroduction and how to implement this activity as good as possible. On the second day, a study visit to potentially acceptable locations on Drava river where German tamarisk and Dwarf cattail can be reintroduced, was organized.

„German tamarisk and Dwarf cattail are two pioneer plants that grow on dynamic river habitats such as gravel bars and are indicators of healthy and natural rivers. In the past those two species were inhabited along the Drava river in Croatia, but today, due to the over-exploitation of the river and its regulation they almost disappeared,“ said Branka Španiček from WWF Adria.

Drava Life study visit/Drava Life studijsko putovanje

Drava Life steering commitee meeting and study visit to LIFE project in Slovenia

18/09/2017/in Nekategorizirano /by bspanicek

Varaždin, Croatia – The two-day meeting of working groups and steering commitee of the LIFE Drava project in Croatia took place on September 12nd and 13th at the meeting venue of Hrvatske vode in Varaždin. The lead partner of the project Hrvatske vode VGO Varaždin, Drava Life coordinators Association for Nature Protection and Environment Zeleni Osijek, representatives of Revital and WWF Austria and representatives of WWF Adria all attended the meeting and discussed examples of good practice in river restoration and presented the preliminary drafts for restoration of all seven planned locations and their conceptual solutions.

On the second day of the meeting, a study trip to the neighboring LIFE project in Slovenia was organized. DOPPS representatives and Damijan Denac, director of DOPPS and LIVE Drava project in Slovenia welcomed the DRAVA LIFE partners from Croatia. The field group visited the river side branches at the locations of Mali vasi and Markovci near Ptuj where river revitalization works were already done. This visit carried forward the positive practice and mutual cooperation between representatives of similar EU projects.

Two neighbouring Life projects on Drava/Dva susjedna LIFE projekta na Dravi

Representatives of the DRAVA LIFE project attended the opening of the Ormož Basins Nature Reserve in Slovenia

11/09/2017/in Nekategorizirano /by bspanicek

Ormož, Slovenia – LIVE DRAVA Project – The restoration of the ecosystem of the lower part of the Drava River started in Slovenia in 2012 under the leadership of DOPPS and partners from the water management, energy sector and local municipalities. In the area of the basins and waste water treatment plant of the former sugar factory in Ormož, successful restoration was carried out through the project funded by European funds for nature protection of the LIFE + program.

Restoration through the manageable irrigation system from Ormož Lake on the Drava River creates new habitats for birds (e.g. nesting islands and free water surface) within the lagoons. The habitat management system includes water level regulation in the basins and grazing of 14 water buffalos that will prevent excessive growth of vegetation in the lagoons. A service facility as well as four bird watching towers were built. Also, old containers with a functional model for blind and partially sighted people was refurbished. A former processing plant for waste water has been transformed into a management center of the Reserve with an educational garden displaying nature conservation tips for every home.

The nature conservation of this area is dedicated to the protection of endangered wetland birds, which will have appropriate nesting habitats here. The area of Ormož Basins has a great national and international importance due to the appearance of a large number of bird species in the nesting and migration period. In the wider area of Ormož Basins, ornithologists have recorded 266 bird species by the end of 2016, which is 69% of all identified bird species in Slovenia says Dr. Damjan Denac, Director of DOPPS and LIVE DRAVA project manager.

Five representatives of the DRAVA LIFE project from Hrvatske vode VGO Varaždin and Green Osijek attended the official opening of the Ormož Basins Nature Reserve in Slovenia near the Drava River. All the present partners from LIVE DRAVA project thanked the colleagues of the neighbouring Croatian Life project on Drava River for participating.

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