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Maintaining uninterrupted ecological corridors
The network of highways and railways that connect key areas of Central and Eastern Europe to the rest of the continent is being planned for development right now. This “large infrastructure” will be developed across the Carpathian Mountains and will cross valuable ecosystems comprised in natural protected areas, including Natura 2000 sites, threatening to fragment, divide and to disturb them. In order to prevent and to diminish these threats and pressures on nature, the TRANSGREEN project aims to develop an environmentally-friendly and safe transport network in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

 rel= © Domogled - Valea Cernei, Dan Dinu

The TRANSGREEN brings together organizations directly involved in the planning of large infrastructure projects, as well as nature conservation: national and regional authorities, international organizations, research centres and universities, motorway companies, environmental organizations. This ensures an integrated approach on the development of an environmentally-friendly and safe transport system in the Carpathian region.

These organizations have the know-how, capacity, experience and authority to develop concrete solutions to reduce environmental impact and design suitable Green Infrastructure elements. One focus will be maintaining uninterrupted ecological corridors which ensure the free movement of species most vulnerable to the impact of motorways and railways: large carnivores (such as the brown bear, the wolf and the lynx) as well as certain species of herbivores.
 
The concrete measures regarding the planning, building, management and monitoring of large infrastructure will focus on four pilot-projects: the Tîrgu Mureș-Iași motorway (Romania), the Curtici (Radna)-Deva railway (Romania), the Miskolc (Hungary) – Kosice (Slovakia) – Uzhgorod (Ukraine) motorway, the Beskydy motorway (Czech Republic-Slovakia).

The project will also develop a set of standards regarding the integrated planning of infrastructure projects and will advocate for their inclusion in public policy across the region.
 
 
Logo Transgreen project 
© WWF DCP
Logo Transgreen project
© WWF DCP

Parcul Natural Defileul Mureşului Superior rel= © Deszo Laszo

Project partners:
Austria - WWF International Danube-Carpathian Programme (project lead), Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention
Czech Republic – Friends of the Earth Czech Republic - branch Olomouc, Nature Conservation Agency, Transport Research Centre
Hungary – CEEweb for Biodiversity
Romania - Association “Milvus Group”, WWF Romania
Slovakia – National Motorway Company, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, SPECTRA – Centre of Excellence of EU – Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

 
Associated project partners:
Austria – Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology
Czech Republic – Ministry of the Environment
Hungary – National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Ltd.
Poland – Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction
Romania – Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Transport
Slovenia – Ministry of Infrastructure
Ukraine - Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Transcarpathian Regional State Administration – Department of Ecology and Natural Resources

 
The project TRANSGREEN (DTP1-187-3.1-TRANSGREEN) is co-funded by the European Union (ERDF) through the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme (DTP), Priority 3 - Better connected and energy responsible Danube region, Specific objective - Support environmentally-friendly and safe transport systems and balanced accessibility of urban and rural areas.