The Danube River is a lifeline for biodiversity and home to an incredible variety of plant and animal species – around 5 000 animal species in total. Like other regions in Europe, the fragmentation of its ecosystems has become a major threat to biodiversity. The EU-funded DANUBEparksCONNECTED project aimed to counteract this decline by creating the Danube Habitat Corridor and strengthening collaboration between organisations that manage protected areas along the river in nine Danube countries.
- 05 November 2020
“With DANUBEparksCONNECTED, we have demonstrated how to counteract habitat fragmentation along the river, especially in Protected Areas which preserve the most important natural sites. The new initiatives that we started within the project (such as DANUBE WILDisland) serve as a good practice for the whole of Europe.”
The Danube River connects more bio-geographic regions than any other ecological corridor in Europe, according to Austria’s ministry for sustainability. A network of protected areas, DANUBEPARKS, stretches from Germany to Romania’s Black Sea coast and was established in 2009 to preserve 16 of the Danube’s key natural areas.
Between 2017 and 2020, the network used EU finances to establish and develop the Danube Habitat Corridor. In parallel, this Interreg project implemented best practice examples for connecting habitats and involved hundreds of volunteers in conservation activities.
Diverse habitats
Several initiatives, each focusing on a specific habitat type, were launched during the project. The WILDisland initiative strengthened the Danube’s aquatic corridor by creating a database of 912 islands, classifying them based on the level of intervention needed. A total of 147 islands are untouched by human activity.
Another scheme, DANUBE FREE SKY, supported collision-free bird migration. In cooperation with power-line operators, technical solutions were implemented to protect birds from colliding with electricity wires across the Danube region.
For dry habitats, livestock herds were encouraged to roam and graze across borders, which will naturally manage the land, and native tree species were planted to reforest woodlands along river banks.
Volunteer days
Local citizens were actively involved in these conservation efforts. During 30 volunteer events organised over two years, 800 volunteers worked on the Danube Habitat Corridor. Youth and school groups were involved in activities including litter collection, bush trimming and removal of invasive plant species.
Through its local pilot activities and Danube-wide strategies, the project improved the region’s ecological connectivity in the long term and will help to minimise the negative impact of climate change on biodiversity.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “DANUBEparksCONNECTED – Bridging the Danube Protected Areas towards a Danube Habitat Corridor” is EUR 3 085 412 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund and Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance contributing EUR 2 622 600 through the “Danube Interreg” Cooperation Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period.