DANUBEparksCONNECTED - NATURE CONSERVATION AND WATERWAY MANAGEMENT at the DANUBE RIVER
15-05-2017
The Interreg Danube Transnational Programme is an important platform for the cross-sectoral cooperation along the Danube River. In the framework of the interdisciplinary conference on
26th-27th April in Dunakiliti (Hungary), more than 50 representatives of various interest groups set new initiatives on the interface of river morphology and waterway management. The conference has been organised jointly by DANUBEparksCONNECTED and Danube STREAM.
The conference has been opened by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture and the Fertö Hansag National Park and moderated by Alexander Zinke, from the Austrian Environment Agency.
The main topics of the first day of the conference on 26th of April, have been the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation and the identification of synergies from the DTP programme side and the EUSDR as well as introductions on Nature conservation and Waterway management:
- Potential synergies between water management, nature conservation and waterway management and the role of EUSDR
(Balázs Horváth, Priority Area Coordinator Water Quality Priority Area 4)
- The added Value of cross-sectoral cooperation and cross-over capitalization
(Gustáv Csomor, Project officer, Joint Secretariat Danube Transnational Programme)
- DANUBE SEDIMENT as “stepping stones” among nature conservation and waterway management
(Sándor Baranya, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, DANUBE Sediment)
- Session Nature Conservation I
- DANUBEparksCONNECTED: Efforts of Danube Protected Areas on river morphology and restoration
(Balázs Tóth, Duna-Ipoly National Park/Work Package Leader) & Georg Frank, DANUBEPARKS Secretary General)
- Key role of hydro-morphology and river dynamics for the Danube ecosystem
(Momir Paunovic, University of Belgrade; Head of the Department of Hydroecology and Water Protection)
- Session Nature Conservation II
- Impact of waterway infrastructure and waves stress on fish Ecology
(Hubert Keckeis, Department of Limnology & Bio-Oceanography, University of Vienna)
- Good Practice: LIFE Liberty Island
(Tibor Parrag, Head of Department Conservation, Duna-Drava National Park)
- Session Waterway Management
- Activities & expected outputs by Danube STREAM on the Interface of waterway management and nature conservation (Gert-Jan Muilerman, viadonau/Danube STREAM Project Manager)
- Public participation and stakeholder involvement in inland waterway transport projects in Serbia
(Jasna Muskatirovic, PhD, Plovput)
Presentation
- Waterway Management in a National Park: good Practice from East of Vienna (Robert Tögel, Head of Team Integrated River Engineering Project, viadonau)
Presentation
In the afternoon a Field Trip in the Danube in the Szigetköz area has been organised by the Fertö Hansag National Park-Team and provided the opportunity to have informal discussions and learn more about nature conservation and waterway management in the region.
Picture: Alexander Zinke
The second day 27th of April, was dedicated to intense workshops to jointly elaborate standards for an ecologically sound waterway maintenance and to discuss fields of cooperation for the development of the WILDisland initiative, aiming to foster the conservation of Danube Islands in their function as stepping stones within the Danube Habitat Corridor.
The joint work will continue until the next cross-sector conference organised by Danube STREAM in May 2018 in Serbia where the outcomes will be presented. National contacts among nature conservation and waterway management have been established at the conference and first steps towards cooperation have been taken.
