Havelberg, Dessau – Last week project partners in the “coop MDD” project, financed by EU through the Interreg Danube Transboundary Programme 2014-2020, visited the Biosphere Reserve on Elbe River in Germany. The Biosphere Reserve Flusslandschaft Elbe is known for its restoration projects and successful inclusion of local businesses in the touristic offer of the region.   

Elbe River, or Laba in Czech, where it has its source, is one of the major waterways of central Europe. It runs from Krkonoše Mountains near the border of the Czech Republic and Poland, makes a wide arc across Bohemia and enters eastern Germany flowing all the way to the North Sea. For centuries it has been used for transport of goods across central Europe on cargo ships and has been heavily modified throughout the history.

With the establishment of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and joint restoration efforts of national and regional governments and NGOs, the life has returned to the river Elbe and its tributaries like Havel River. Management of the Biosphere Reserve also created a network of local businesses offering local products and services enriching the touristic offer of the whole area. 

“The Biosphere Reserve has set up partnerships with farmers, crafts companies, restaurants, hotels, or touristic guides. Thanks to this, also the local economy – in the end, local people – benefits from the Biosphere Reserve and its sustainable regional development approach. This also helps increasing support of the local people for further nature conservation projects that offer the basis for this sustainable development”, said Magdalena Wagner, “coop MDD” project manager from WWF Austria.

Full engagement of local, regional and national governments and their bodies is of vital importance, no matter if it is about establishing a sustainable tourism destination or about enlarging the core zone and giving life back to the floodplain forests.

“The kind of success we saw in Biosphere Reserve on Elbe River is only possible if all stakeholders and the government come together and find best solutions for sustainable development in the framework of Biosphere Reserve. In the establishment and management of TBR Mura-Drava-Danube we want to learn from the good practices all over Europe and integrate those learnings into our joint management program and the development of the network of River Schools,” concluded Wagner.

For the photo story please visit our gallery. For more information about the study visit please download the report.