The WILDisland team met at the Croatian Danube in Kopački Rit Nature park.
Danube flows through 10 countries and is considered the most international river in the world. Taking care of it cannot be done without international cooperation. Because of this Danubeparks Network of Protected Areas have been established and so has been the WILDisland project. To be a part of such a big international project is not easy and the mutual visits are a necessity.
During the weekend we attented networking meeting which was hosted by our Croatian partner Kopački Rit Nature park. The networking topic was the methodology of project monitoring. This consists in evaluating the impact of interventions in nature, more specifically how the state of local nature will improve after the restoration of the Danube sidearms and islands.
And since a look is worth tousand words, visit to the local Danube landscape could not be missed. The Kopački Rit Nature Park is a huge tangle of wetland meadows, floodplain forests and side arms. It is one of the most important zoological reserves in Croatia. We saw a lot of amphibians, insects, herons, also several black storks and sea eagles, we even heard a pack of golden jackals howling at night. The true beauty of a wilderness.
In addition to the Kopački Rit Nature Park, we also visited the Duna-Dráva National Park in the south of Hungary. We were here to see another Danube island that will be revitalized by local partners. The local face of the Danube is significantly different from that in Slovakia. Gravel, which we know as a typical feature of the Danube, is no longer found here and is replaced by fine sand. The riverbed is wider and the water is browner.
Donau, Dunaj, Duna, Dunav, Dunarea, Dunai. One river, six names, ten countries and one common goal to contribute to the preservation of the natural islands, side arms and floodplain forests of the Danube region.
