The SavaParks network members met from the 19th to 21st of February in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. The meeting was attended by Sava TIES project partners and other SavaParks members. A new SavaParks project Sava Parks II - Freedom for Sava was presented. The SavaParks network is a network of protected areas along the Sava Rivers and includes 23 organizations dealing with nature protection in the four countries of the Sava River Basin.

The aim of the three year project is to strengthen the SavaParks network and to foster the restoration of the Sava River and its floodplains. In some parts, the river has been altered by human activities and returning to natural state would mean the return of valuable habitats and better flood protection, as well as a lower risk of loss of drinking water sources. The Sava River is extremely valuable for all the riparian countries and it is well preserved in relation to the rivers of Western Europe. Water reservoirs of large cities along the Sava River depend on the quantity and quality of water that the Sava River delivers. Thanks to good preservation, in the river and along the Sava River we find many rare and endangered species and habitats. Along the Sava, there are spacious fertility areas for food and large flooded oak forests, which are unique at the European level.

The Sava TIES project was presented to the participants and the synergies between the SavaParks II project and the Sava TIES project were discussed. The participants actively took part in workshop to work on a joint vision for the SavaParks network.

The meeting concluded with a visit of two protected areas in Brodsko-Posavska County in the floodplains of the Sava River. First they visited the Ornithological Reserve Bar Dvorin and the important landscape of Gajno as examples of good practices and preserved habitats. The second stop was at the pastoral community of the Eko-Gajna Defense Cooperative, who showed the importance of traditional cattle breeding in maintaining naturally valuable habitats.

News in national languages:

Croatia - Green Ring or Lonjsko Polje Nature Park Public Institution 

Slovenia - Public Institution Ljubljansko barje Nature Park 

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Center for Environment or Public Company National Park "Una"

Serbia - Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province or Nature Conservation Movement Sremska Mitrovica or Public Enterprise „Vojvodinašume“

Germany - EuroNatur