Report: Examples of Positive Resource Management and Cross-Border Cooperation

In the organization of the Danube Environmental Forum Secretariat (DEF Secretariat), a study trip was organized for non-governmental and governmental organizations from three Danube countries (Hungary, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro). The study trip included a visit to the three-border region of Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with the goal to introduce the achievements in cross-border cooperation and the protection of the flood-lands of the Rivers Morava and Dyje. Participants in the study trip in the tri-border area The management of the area presents one of the best examples of the possibilities for sustainable development of an area through application of traditional methods of resources utilization. Therefore, coming from the Ramsar trilateral region, the three neighbouring NGOs (Daphne, Veronika and Distelverein) received the The 2002 Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award for their good management of international wetlands. The most important value of the area is, undoubtedly, the greatest complex of floodland meadows in Europe, which take over an area of 3,000 Ha, the flora of which is exploited, i.e. conserved with traditional methods – mowing and cattle grazing. Also, the area boasts a great population of white storks, which build their nests in natural conditions, as well as forestry ecosystems composed of native species of trees, managed with the purpose to preserve their original composition, which means that there is almost no intervention at all. All of the previous has led to a great level of preservation of the local diversity, which has influenced the positive views of the local communities on their environment, which is used primarily for recreation, resort and for fishing. Naturally, behind this management practice stands the good cooperation of the governmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions, in this case the DAPHNE Institute of Applied Ecology (the hosts of the event), one of the most important European organizations in the field of wetlands ecology and manager of the protected area of Zahorje. This unusual example of cooperation of government institutions and the NGO sector shows the road towards better management of protected areas. In addition, there is a blooming cross-border cooperation in the area, which has intensified after the fall of the “Iron Curtain” to the levels that we can freely speak of a single area, in spite of the fact that it is formally divided between three countries. This example didn’t leave the guests indiferent, so, in addition to the already agreed cooperation of the DAPHNE institute and SCG government institutions regarding capacity building, a visit was agreed for the wetlands of Hungary, Croatia and SCG, sometimes next year. It is important to note that representatives of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Serbia also participated in the trip. The Bureau manages the special natural reservation “Gornje Podunavlje” – the most important wetland in the Danube Valley in Serbia. Representatives of the Plavi Dunav environmental movement from Apatin also participated in the visit, which provides them with an opportunity to apply the European experiences in Serbia.