WWF and Vojvodinašume continue long-standing partnership

WWF and Vojvodinašume continue long-standing partnership to restore Serbian wetlands and biodiversity

Novi Sad, Serbia, - WWF and Serbia’s forest Public Enterprise (PE) Vojvodinašume signed a memorandum to continue their long-standing cooperation on nature protection for an indefinite period. They have worked together since 2011, mainly onwetland restoration in the Amazon of Europe area, which they later nominated for the future UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube” together with other partners, as well as the WWF Dinaric Arcs Parks initiative – a network of protected areas and eco corridors in 7 countries in southeast Europe.

Most recently, in 2014 PE Vojvodinasume’s support for the Dinaric Arcs Parks helped put the Special Nature Reserve “Gornje Podunavlje” (Upper Danube) on the list of Europe’s most prestigious protected areas. As the manager of the reserve, PE Vojvodinašume received the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism at the European Parliament.

“We firmly believe that new ideas and projects will bring equally good results,” said Marta Takac, PE Vojvodinašume director.

The new partnership is mostly in the area of wetland restoration, forest management, public awareness and tourism. The focus in 2015 and 2016 will be restoring 3 wetlands in the Special Nature Reserve ”Gornje Podunavlje” -- Semenjača, Štrbac and Bestrement. The work is part of WWF’s Living Danube partnership with The Coca-Cola Company that will bring back 12 million m3 of freshwater to the Danube.

In the past, the Special Nature Reserve was very important as a reproduction and migration stop-over site for 700 pairs of herons and other rare and endangered birds. This changed after the area dried out -- it was disconnected from the Danube with dykes and became almost totally overgrown by reeds and willows. The restoration will improve the water regime of the area throughout the year. This will be done by reconstructing existing irrigation channels.

The partnership will also revitalize the mosaic of natural habitats (wet meadows and shallow ponds) and seek new opportunities for local sustainable ecotourism, particularly bird watching, hiking and nature photography. This will help bring livelihood to local communities.

“The cooperation between PE Vojvodinašume and WWF will bring multiple benefits for nature and freshwater ecosystems, but also for the people dependent on these ecosystems, such as fresh water, floods mitigation and ecotourism,” said the Director of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Andreas Beckmann.

The Special Nature Reserve “Gornje Podunavlje” is part of the future UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube." It is also known as the Amazon of Europe and stretches from Austria and Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia all the way to Serbia.

ENDS

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