Posted on April, 15 2015

Novi Sad, Serbia - WWF and Serbia’s forest Public Enterprise (PE) Vojvodinašume signed a memorandum to continue their long-standing cooperation on nature protection for an indefinite period.
 
The focus of the partnership in 2015 and 2016 will be restoring 3 wetlands in the Special Nature Reserve ”Gornje Podunavlje” -- Semenjača, Štrbac and Bestrement.  The work is part of WWF’s Living Danube partnership with The Coca-Cola Company that will bring back 12 million m³ of freshwater to the Danube. WWF and Vojvodinašume will also cooperate on forest management, public awareness and tourism.
 
In the past, the Special Nature Reserve ”Gornje Podunavlje” was very important as a reproduction and migration stop-over site for 700 pairs of herons and other rare and endangered birds. This changed after the area dried out -- it was disconnected from the Danube with dykes and became almost totally overgrown by reeds and willows. The restoration will improve the water regime of the area throughout the year. This will be done by reconstructing existing irrigation channels.
 
Besides restoring the three wetlands -- Semenjača, Štrbac and Bestrement -- the partnership will revitalize the mosaic of natural habitats (wet meadows and shallow ponds) and seek new opportunities for local sustainable ecotourism, particularly bird watching, hiking and nature photography.  This will help bring livelihood to local communities.
 
The Special Nature Reserve “Gornje Podunavlje” is part of the future UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube." It is also known as the Amazon of Europe and stretches from Austria and Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia all the way to Serbia.
 
WWF and PE Vojvodinašume have worked together since 2011, mainly on wetland restoration in the Amazon of Europe, which they later nominated for the future UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube” together with other partners, as well as the WWF Dinaric Arcs Parks initiative – a network of protected areas and eco corridors in 7 countries in southeast Europe.
 
Most recently, in 2014 PE Vojvodinasume’s support for the Dinaric Arcs Parks helped put “Gornje Podunavlje” on the list of Europe’s most prestigious protected areas. As the manager of the reserve, PE Vojvodinašume  received the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism at the European Parliament.
 
“We firmly believe that new ideas and projects will bring equally good results,” said Marta Takac, PE Vojvodinašume director.
 
“The cooperation between PE Vojvodinašume and WWF will bring multiple benefits for nature and freshwater ecosystems, but also for the people dependent on these ecosystems, such as fresh water, floods mitigation and ecotourism,” said the Director of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme Andreas Beckmann.
 
For more information:  
Aleksandra Stamenković, WWF Communications Officer in Serbia; mob: +381 69 103 0260; e-mail: astamenkovic@wwfdcp.org 
 
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries.  WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption (www.panda.org/dcpo).
 
WWF's The Green Heart of Europe initiative across 12 countries in Central and Eastern Europe aims to save and protect the five natural riches of the region – forests, wilderness, large carnivores, rivers and wetlands, and the Danube sturgeon. (www.panda.org/greenheartofeurope)