The hotspots

Map of the Green Heart of Europe with its 7 wonders

1. Saved in the folds of the Iron Curtain

Tucked in the folds of the former Iron Curtain on the borders between Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the March-Thaya or Morava-Dyje wetlands are among the richest in Central Europe

© Gerhard Egger/WWF

2. Europe’s first five-country protected area

The confluence of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers - the "Amazon of Europe" - is set to be protected in Europe's first 5-country protected area

© Mario Romulic

3. Lynx mountains

Lynx have returned to the wooded hills of Aggtelek in northern Hungary after an absence of more than a century

© AFP

4. Europe's last wilderness

The Southwest Carpathians are Europe's greatest remaining area of intact forest and wilderness outside of northern Scandinavia and Russia

© WWF-DCPO

5. Old-growth forests and traditional farming

The Balkan Range in Bulgaria and Serbia is the main watershed between the Black Sea and the Aegean covered with centuries-old forests of beech, spruce and fir interspersed with traditional farming communities

© AP

6. Vibrant mosaic of nature and culture

The area of Maramures on the border of Romania and Ukraine presents a rich mosaic of meadows and forests and vibrant cultural traditions

7. The most international river in the world

The Lower Danube Green Corridor includes 1 million hectares of wetlands and the globally important Danube Delta, the world's largest reed bed