Danube Wild Island Habitat Corridor – LIFE WILDisland project started on September 1^st 2019 within the EU Life program for enviroment and climate activites. The expected duration of the project is 72 months.

The main goal  is to contribute to the strategic goal of biodiversity within the EU Biodiversity Strategy until 2030 in preventing of the loss of biodeversity and ecosystem services along Danube. The specific goal is to keep or improve the favorable conservation status of target spiecies and habitats of the Danube islands. Target habitat type, according to NATURA 2000 Ecological Network, are 91E0* riparian forests  of black alder and white ash (Alno-Pandion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae).

There are 15 partners from Danube countries involved in this project (Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia) and the coordinator is the Donau-Auen National Park from Austria. Two project partners are participating from Croatia – JUPP Kopački rit and Hrvatske šume d.o.o.

The project is aimed at preserving endangered natural habitats of floodplain forests on the Danube islands. The previous project, DANUBEparksCONECTED, identified over 900 islands on the Danube from its source to its mouth covering an area of ​​138,000 hectares. The Danube islands represent original and autochthonous river and wetland ecosystems with specific flora and fauna. The islands are the result of the hydrological processes of the Danube and are an indicator of the naturalness of the river. Islands as such constitute extremely valuable habitats that need to be preserved in their natural state. The Danube, with its flood valleys and wild islands, represents the heart of the wilderness of the European continent.

The total financial value of the project is €14,222,637, and the budget of JUPP Kopački rit is €310,781. The share of co-financing from the European Commission is 75%.

 

Project activities in Kopački rit

 

Forest conversion

The project area in Kopački rit is one of the largest river islands on the Danube and as such is a priority for the restoration of degraded habitat types and the conversion of non-native forest plantations to autochthonous ones. Forest conversion will be carried out on an area of ​​37.10 ha by converting Euroamerican poplar plantations into white willow (Salix alba) and black and white poplar (Populus nigra, P. alba) plantations, depending on the soil type.

Project proposal of the WILDisland Regional Ramsar Initiative

Along the entire course of the Danube River, a total of 147 Danube islands have been assessed as being preserved in a favorable and optimal condition for species and habitats. All the islands form an ecological network of great importance for nature protection in Europe. The NATURA 2000 directives form a quality foundation for their protection, management and further development towards their preservation. However, it was estimated that a more comprehensive initiative is needed for the protection and sustainable development of the Danube islands. The protection activities proposed by this project include the development of the international regional Ramsar initiative as a form of development for the protection of wetland and river habitats of the Danube, which is based on the NATURA 2000 Directive. This initiative would additionally ensure high-quality and responsible management of protected natural values, resources and target habitat types that are of exceptional conservation importance at the level of the European Union.

These activities are planned to be carried out not related to the territorial affiliation of the Danube islands to any country, but as an international network of wild islands on the Danube River. The body responsible for the coordination and secretariat of RRI WILDisland would be the Danubeparks association with headquarters in Austria and an office in Kopački rit.

https://wildisland.danubeparks.org/