It is our pleasure to greet all of you dear participants and distinguished guests of the 15th International Symposium Kopački Rit: Past, Present, Future 2026.

The Symposium was jointly organized by: Public institution Kopački rit Nature Park; member units of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek: Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences Osijek, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Faculty of Law Osijek and Green Legal Clinic, Faculty of Kinesiology Osijek, Department of Chemistry, Department of Physics, Department of Biology, Alumni of the Department of Biology, Public Institution Agency for Management of Protected Natural Values in Osijek-Baranja County, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Teaching Institute of Public Health for the Osijek-Baranja County, and Josip Juraj Strossmayer Water Institute.

International support for the organization of the symposium was provided by three international associations: The Danube River Network of Protected Areas (DANUBEPARKS), The Balkan Environmental Association (B.EN.A.) and The International Association of Environmental Scientists and Professionals (IAESP).

With this symposium we celebrate three exceptional anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of the legal protection of Kopački rit in category of Nature Park (1976); 5th anniversary of the proclamation of the Five-country Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube (Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia) under the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (2021), and 15th anniversary of holding the Symposium „Kopački rit: Past, Present, Future“ (2012).

Programme of the two-day symposium, 1 and 2 October 2026, delivers 127 presentations, of which 53 oral and 74 poster presentations. During the fifteen years since the first symposium held on 27 September 2012, a total of 830 presentations were held.

We are pleased that the symposium has become recognisable as an annual gathering place for scientists, experts, students, teachers and members of associations from Croatia and abroad, who are given the opportunity to present the achievements of their activities and new insights gained through participation in the implementation of numerous projects with national or European Union funding support, with particular importance given to participation in cross-border and international projects in the field of nature and environmental protection.

We are grateful to the patrons of the symposium: the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Osijek-Baranja County, City of Osijek, and to the sponsors: Belje plus Ltd., Libusoft Cicom Ltd. and Valalta Ltd., and to the partners: Huawei Technologies Ltd. and TECH4ALL program who recognized the importance and benefits of this symposium for the wide social community.

On behalf of the Organizing and Programme Committees
Prof. Siniša Ozimec, PhD

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