While the Drava and Mura Rivers once served as a symbol of the Cold War divide, they now represent progress in cross-border cooperation.

A rich natural and cultural heritage is combined in one of the most beautiful and valuable wetland areas of Europe: spanning Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia, the lower courses of the Drava and Mura Rivers and related sections of the Danube River were recently declared a Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve by all five countries. With more than 800,000 hectares the site will be Europe's largest river protection area.

A 700 km-long 'green belt' connects highly valuable riverine landscapes such as floodplain forests, river islands, hundreds of gravel and sand banks and oxbows, and is enormously rich in wildlife. The area is home to the highest density of breeding pairs of White-tailed Eagles in Continental Europe, and hosts other endangered bird species such as the Little Tern, which, with only five to ten breeding pairs, is the rarest bird species in this area and the 'ambassador' for the dynamic Drava River.

Protected riverine areas under one umbrella. During the Cold War, the Mura and Drava Rivers formed part of the 'Iron Curtain' border and were a symbol of that divide. Over the last two decades, the transboundary river system has become a lifeline connecting the five countries. The five countries in this region have established a network of about 20 single river protected areas. This includes the Danube-Drava National Park in Hungary, the Kopački Rit Nature Park in Croatia, the Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve in Serbia and Natura 2000 sites along the Drava and Mura in Austria and Slovenia. Most recently, Croatia declared 88,000 ha of the Drava-Mura a Regional Park. A new Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve will combine various protected areas for effective protection and management of this shared river ecosystem.

Green light for Transboundary Biosphere Reserve.
On 25 March 2011 the ministers responsible for environment and nature protection of all five countries, Nikolaus Berlakovich, Jasen Mesić, Sándor Fazekas, Oliver Dulić and Roko Žarnić, in the presence of EU Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik, signed a joint declaration establishing a Transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve along the three rivers. The signing took place as part of the Informal Ministerial Meeting within the Hungarian EU-Presidency in Gödöllő near Budapest. This declaration is based on an agreement between Croatia and Hungary from 2009, where both countries committed to establish the joint reserve.

The Biosphere Reserve paves the way to create the world's first five-country protected area, consisting of about 260,000 hectares of core and buffer zones and of another 540,000 hectares of transition zones. "It is not only a significant step forward in protecting the region's natural treasures but serves as a striking example of how nature conservation can bring countries together," says Andreas Beckmann, Director of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme.

Masterpiece in the Danube Basin. The Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve will be implemented within the European Commission's Strategy for the Danube Region. The Biosphere Reserve will support the biodiversity objectives set by the EuropeanCouncil of Ministers in 2010, and will correspond to the objectives of the long-term 2050 biodiversity vision and the 2020 biodiversity target. Since the three rivers are covered extensively by Natura 2000 sites, it also contributes to the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives as well as the EU Water Framework Directive.

Furthermore, the initiative has a great potential to step up the regional cooperation between Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia and bring these countries closer together, including with current and future EU members.

"This landmark cross border agreement is a powerful demonstration of a shared green vision that builds on and reinforces regional cooperation and unity in Europe," says Jim Leape, WWF International Director General.

Europe's 'Amazon' still in danger. However, despite joint protection efforts the natural river courses are under threat. The Water Management Authorities of Croatia, together with Hungary and Serbia, are undertaking plans to regulate over 100 kilometres of the natural meandering stretches of the Danube, Drava and Mura Rivers. Currently three major projects are in the pipeline to channel the Danube between Croatia, Serbia and Hungary, the Lower Drava in Croatia at Osijek and the Drava-Mura confluence between Croatia and Hungary.

In 2009, the EU Commission initiated a fact-finding mission to Croatia, and two independent EU experts were hired to investigate regulation projects along the Drava. They found the planned regulation of 56 kilometres of the Lower Drava in Croatia to be outdated, environmentally destructive and not in accordance with international standards and EU laws. They also concluded that the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project was not done "in compliance with international standards and EU law" and that "the project should not be realised". They also stated that the extraction of gravel and sand from the riverbeds should be stopped.

The future decisions on these outdated regulation and sediment extraction plans and projects will finally prove the preparedness of the countries to implement their commitment to better protect and manage the area as a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve and to implement river management in accordance with EU law.

A river management concept for the Biosphere Reserve has already been developed by WWF and EuroNatur: www.sterna-albifrons.net/xoops/files/Drava-Vision-2009-2020.pdf.

Arno Mohl has worked in the transboundary area since 1992. Between 1996 and 1998 he wrote his thesis about the Croatian-Hungarian Drava River and is currently project coordinator for the Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve at WWF Austria.