SAVE THE DRAVA RIVER,CROATIA Framework Directive. Natura 2000andtheobjectives oftheWater of freshwater habitats protected under contradict boththeconservation objectives impacts thatalready exist andtherefore plants would exacerbatethenegative construction ofadditionalhydropower migration routes andtrapsediments. The habitat andsurvival. They also block fish species thatdependonthemfor their and, asaconsequence, threaten the fragment rivers, destroy wetlands hydropower plants. Hydropower dams already saturated withmore than25,000 of hydropower. Europe’s rivers are serious threats from thedevelopment leaving nature dangerously exposed to enforcement ofour nature laws is Major gaps intheimplementationand European biodiversity isinfreefall. wildlife andhabitatsacross Europe, suchasthe“Amazon ofEurope” –theDrava River! The #NatureAlert Countdown ison!But there is still timetotakeactionsave threatened laws –theBirds &HabitatsDirectives to improve theimplementation and enforcement oftheEU’s world-leading nature Vella totakedecisive actioninhis remaining timeasEUEnvironment Commissioner European Policythe EarthEurope andWWF call onCommissioner Karmenu Office BirdLife Europe &CentralAsia, EEB (European Environmental Bureau), Friends of enforcement of Hydropower dams:threats to the implementation and WILL YOU LEAVEWILL YOU A LASTINGLEGACY FORNATURE? 1 .

©Goran Šafarek #NatureAlert Contact: SabineLeemans-SeniorBiodiversity Policy Officer, [email protected] WWF 1 environmentally damaging development. loophole inthelaw leaves theDrava River andall otherCroatian rivers exposed toillegal and assessment. Thisviolates boththeBHD and the EUWater Framework Directive. This the purposes offlood defence and navigation toproceed without proper environmental amendment tothenew Water Act. Thisamendmentwould allow destructive activities for A mere 4months later, inJuly 2019 the Croatian parliamentslipped inaworrying last minute Or so itseemed. the Drava River –success! NGOs andthepublic. Itwas announced there would benonew hydropower constructionson River from hydropower plants organised by theKoprivnica-Križevci WWF, County listened to In March 2019,following apublic consultation andayear-long campaign tosave theDrava Natura 2000site andtheprotected species andhabitats itentails. (BHD). New hydropower plants intheprotected area would have impactedthe significantly site is therefore designated as aNatura2000site under theEUBirds andHabitats Directives are an importanthabitatfor black storks, white-tailed eagles, sandmartins, andstarlets. The breeding pairsoflittle terns ontheDrava River inCroatia. Furthermore, Drava’s floodplains state, withmany gravel bars, steepbanks, side armsandalluvial forests. Ithosts thelast plants were intheonly free flowing partoftheDrava River, where itisinits most natural Koprivnica-križevci County bordering withHungary. Thelocation oftheproposed hydropower threatened by plans todevelop two more hydropower plants, Molve 1andMolve 2in The Drava River, runningthrough Croatia intheheartofAmazonEurope, hadbeen been nominatedtobetheworld’s 5country UNESCO Transboundary first Biosphere Reserve important riverine areas -theso-called “Amazon ofEurope”. TheMura-Drava-Danube has and MuraRivers andrelated sections oftheDanubeare amongEurope’s mostecologically Spanning Austria, Croatia, Hungary, SerbiaandSlovenia, thelower courses oftheDrava

January 2019, ‘Joint Policy Brief ontheImplementationandEnforcement oftheBirds &HabitatsDirectives’ Croatian government withdraws theamendment The nextEuropean Commission mustensure the Nonew hydropower plants inNatura2000sites. to thenew Water Actandensure all Member States follow theDrava River example: information this document contains. mentioned above. Thefundercannot beheld responsible for any usewhichmay bemade ofthe responsibility oftheauthors andcannot beregarded as reflecting theposition ofthe funders and theMAVA Foundation for thispublication. Thecontentsofthisdocument are thesole assistance oftheEuropeanThe authors gratefullyacknowledge Commission thefinancial . #NatureAlert