Research has shown that a number of important nature sites in the Sava River Basin shelter many globally rare and threatened animal and plant species.

The Sava River floodplains have the potential to provide not only security and protection to the livelihoods of the people living along its banks but also to be a model of transboundary integrated river basin management. There is a clear need for the strengthened transboundary cooperation between the Sava countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia), along with the need for improved integration and coordination of relevant sectors for the benefits of nature and local communities.

This vision was created during the IUCN international conference ‘Towards a Shared Vision for the Sava River’ held in November 2009 in Zagreb, Croatia. Apart from sharing experiences between different sectors and discussing future steps in the management of the Sava River Basin, the conference built on the result of the LIFE III project ‘Protection of Biodiversity of the Sava River Basin Floodplains’.

Protecting important habitats. The project indentified and assessed the ecological status of 49 sites as core areas for the future ecological network along the river in compliance with the European Union Birds and Habitats Directives, of which four are designated Ramsar sites: Bardaca Wetlands (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lonjsko i Mokro polje (Croatia), Zasavica, and Obedska bara (Serbia). Recent research shows that there are a number of important nature sites that comprise exceptionally important habitats which shelter many globally rare and threatened animal and plant species and would serve as a basis for the future Natura 2000 network along the Sava River.

Some of the significant features of the Sava River are its floodplain areas, which support biodiversity and prevent flooding. “Traditional forms of land use, such as grazing and mowing, together with the natural activity of the river, have created the present day characteristic appearance of the floodplains. The most important evidence of this is seen in the middle reaches of the Sava River in Central Posavina,” says Henk Zingstra of Wageningen International, the Land Use Working Group Coordinator. This part of the Sava River represents a unique landscape and ecological system of flooded river side areas that exist due to the joint impacts of natural flooding processes and human activities.

One of the key challenges in managing the Sava River is the reconciliation of economic development with the protection and sustainable use of biological and landscape diversity. To allow for the integrated management of the Sava River floodplains, it is essential to keep the momentum of good transboundary cooperation, strengthen the capacities of existing management structures, and to improve cooperation across various sectors managing natural resources of the Sava River floodplains.

For more information, please see: www.savariver.com

Boris Erg is the Director of the IUCN Programme Office for South- Eastern Europe.