The International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme declared 29,000 ha of valuable floodplains along the Mura River a biosphere reserve during its annual conference in Indonesia this Wednesday, announced WWF Adria.
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This marks another step towards the establishment of the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube, which will span five countries.
After Croatia and Hungary in 2012, and Serbia in 2017, this part of the Mura has been almost completely recognized by UNESCO as the European Amazon. Currently, 850,000 ha of natural and culturally rich landscapes of the three rivers are protected, and soon a nomination will be submitted for the last part – the area on the Austrian side of the Mura River between Spielfeld and Bad Radkersburg.
“To ensure sustainable management of this vast river area, it is extremely important to simultaneously prevent further planning for the construction of a series of hydropower plants. This nomination confirms that the Mura River should be managed sustainably, for the sake of people and nature,” comments Ivana Korn Varga from WWF Adria.
The nomination of the biosphere reserve is a significant recognition for 13 municipalities along the Mura River, as well as for the Slovenian Ministry of the Environment and the Institute for Nature Conservation, which have worked for years to make the Mura a biosphere reserve.
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The new Mura biosphere reserve, with a 100 km stretch, extends from the border with Austria to the borders with Croatia and Hungary. This area is already part of the Natura 2000 ecological network. The exceptional river landscape is home to many species and hides the largest Slovenian floodplain forest, where a significant number of black storks nest.
The Mura in Slovenia has no dams, is the richest in fish of all Slovenian rivers, and serves as a migration route for endangered species such as the Danube salmon, as well as sensitive species like the catfish. In 2016, the Slovenian Ministry of the Environment submitted a nomination to UNESCO to declare this area a biosphere reserve.
WWF has been working for years and providing support to the ministries of all five countries in achieving this significant goal.
In parallel with the work on establishing the transboundary biosphere reserve, WWF is also collaborating on the implementation of specific EU projects that benefit nature and local communities, valued at around 14 million euros.
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Protected areas along the Mura, Drava, and Danube have been cooperating since 2017 through the project coop MDD to jointly agree on the goals and protection measures for this transboundary area. In June 2018, the project “European Amazon Cycling Route” began, which will allow nature and sports enthusiasts to book cycling tours and excursions and visit cultural and natural landmarks along all three rivers by 2021. Additionally, river revitalization is being implemented to create new natural habitats and spaces where people can truly experience the river landscape.
