Restoring Rivers and Wetlands Living Danube Partnership – Results and Lessons May 2021

RESTORING RIVERS AND WETLANDS LIVING DANUBE PARTNERSHIP – RESULTS AND LESSONS MAY 2021 WORKING TOGETHER FOR A LIVING DANUBE 1 WWF is an independent conservation organisation, with over 30 million followers and a global network active through local leadership in nearly 100 countries. Our mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by cons Gârla Mare erving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. See wwf.panda.org WWF Central & Eastern Europe (WWF‑CEE) covers seven countries and provides overall leadership and coordination for WWF’s engagement in the Danube and Carpathian eco‑regions. It includes legal entities in five countries (WWF‑Romania, WWF‑Hungary, CONTENTS WWF‑Bulgaria, WWF‑Slovakia and WWF‑Ukraine) and an Austrian‑registered association serving as secretariat. WWF‑CEE also manages WWF engagement in the Czech THE DANUBE RIVER BASIN 5 Republic and Moldova. See www.wwfcee.org LESSONS LEARNED FROM 8 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP 6 The Living Danube Partnership – core team The Coca‑Cola Company Europe LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Sofia Kilifi, Therese Noorlander, Ulrike Sapiro, Peter Easton (technical consultant) FROM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION 8 International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) Edith Hoedl, Helene Masliah Gilkarov RIVER AND WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECTS 11 WWF‑CEE (regional leadership and coordination) Andreas Beckmann, Laurice Ereifej, Angelika Beranek, PEOPLE AND PARTNERS 46 Daniel Swartz, Péter Baráth, Szilvia Ádám WWF Adria Branka Španiček, Duška Dimović WWF Austria Bernhard Kohler, Tanja Nikowitz, Emőke Györfi WWF Bulgaria/CEE Philip Penchev, Ivan Hristov, Stoyan Mihov, Katerina Rakovska WWF Hungary/CEE Tamás Gruber, György Verő, Zoltán Barina WWF Romania/CEE Camelia Ionescu, Iulia Puiu Authors and contributors Laurice Ereifej, Szilvia Ádám, Andreas Beckmann Project descriptions THE LIVING DANUBE PARTNERSHIP Bernhard Kohler, Branka Španiček, Tamás Gruber, Duška Dimović, Camelia Ionescu, Philip Penchev The Living Danube Partnership is a unique, Editor cross‑sectoral partnership that has brought together Andreas Beckmann WWF‑CEE, the Coca‑Cola Foundation and the Coca‑Cola For more information system as well as the International Commission for the Laurice Ereifej, Regional Lead for Freshwater, WWF‑CEE, [email protected] Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) to promote the conservation and restoration of wetlands in the Maps Source: Esri, Maxar, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, Danube basin. Supported by a $4.4 million (€3.73 million) CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AeroGRID, IGN grant from The Coca‑Cola Foundation, the eight‑year and the GIS User Community partnership has sought to restore vital wetlands, rivers Layout Michal Stránský and floodplains along the River Danube and its tributaries, Publishing office aiming to increase the river capacity by the equivalent Published in May 2021 by WWF‑CEE. Any reproduction of 4,800 Olympic sized swimming pools (12 million m3) in full or in part must mention the title and credit the above‑mentioned publisher as the copyright owner. and to restore over 7,422 football pitches worth of wetland habitat (53 km2) by 2021. © Text 2021 WWF. All rights reserved For contact details and further information, please visit our website at www.wwfcee.org WWF Central & Eastern Europe, Ottakringerstrasse 114‑116, 1160 Wien, Austria, [email protected] WWF® and World Wide Fund for Nature® trademarks and ©1986 Panda Symbol are owned by WWF‑World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund). All rights reserved. © Bence Máté Cover photography: © Csaba Schmidt WWF CEE 2021 3 THE DANUBE RIVER BASIN The Danube River Basin is the most international river basin in the world and a very significant lifeline for Europe. On its 2,800 km journey from the Black Forest to the Black Sea, the river passes through 10 countries and drains all or part of 19 countries. Approximately 83 million people DANUBE RIVER BASIN live in the Danube River Basin and more than 20 million peo‑ ple depend directly on the Danube for their drinking water. The basin not only unifies and sustains a wealth of diverse cultures and traditions, but also supports unique wetland habitats like the Danube Delta and the Mura‑Drava‑Danube PROJECT 1: AUSTRIA Biosphere Reserve. NEUSIEDLER SEE NATIONAL PARK However, over the past 150 years, the Danube basin and its wetlands have been much abused. Dikes, dams, cuts, bank fixation and dredging have modified large parts of the river system. More than 80% of wetlands have been lost, and with them the ecosystem goods and services they provide. MURA-DRAVA-DANUBE The effects have been wide‑ranging and include plummeting TRANSBOUNDARY BIOSPHERE RESERVE fish and wildlife populations, decreases in water quality and PROJECT 3: HUNGARY damage to wetlands, which are no longer able to provide PROJECT 2: much needed biodiversity hotspots or to act as buffers to CROATIA floodwaters – services that are becoming all the more valua‑ ble in the face of climate change. PROJECT 5: SERBIA PROJECT 4: HUNGARY LOWER DANUBE GREEN CORRIDOR PROJECT 8: BULGARIA PROJECT 6–7: ROMANIA PROJECT 9: BULGARIA 80% PERCENTAGE OF DANUBE BASIN FLOODPLAINS LOST WWF CEE 2021 5 LESSONS LEARNED FROM 8 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP © WWF-Romania Although water quality in the Danube has im‑ The aim of the Living Danube Partner‑ of local stakeholders and authorities. IN 2020, COCA-COLA EUROPE RESULTS ship is to promote river and wetland Partners from a range of backgrounds proved in recent years, over 80% of the flood‑ While Danube countries have made restoration across the Danube basin – and perspectives, from water manage‑ RECEIVED THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE strong commitments to conserving not only through the partnership’s ment to nature and forest management, YEAR AWARD FOR ITS PARTNERSHIP plains along the river and its main tributaries own actions but also and especially municipalities and county govern‑ and restoring freshwater habitats and WITH WWF-CEE AND THE ICPDR. have been lost, and with them significant popula‑ ecosystems, achieving this in practice beyond. In this spirit, we hope that the ments, land owners and land users, has proven to be challenging, requiring lessons and recommendations we have local anglers and hunters as well as PRESENTED AT THE REUTERS tions of fish and other valuable ecosystem goods gathered can benefit further efforts to entrepreneurs, have come and worked overcoming technical challenges as RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS AWARDS and services – services that are especially impor‑ well as painstaking alignment of local restore rivers and wetlands, for the together to restore rivers and wetlands landowners and interests. That is where benefit of people and nature. for the benefit of people and nature. 2020, THE AWARD WAS GIVEN Their cooperation promoted knowl‑ tant to strengthen the resilience of people and the Living Danube Partnership comes FOR THE LIVING DANUBE in. The cross‑sectoral partnership has PARTNERS edge and awareness, built trust and nature in the face of climate change. harnessed the mandate of the Interna‑ gave inspiration that will be carried PARTNERSHIP’S UNIQUE MODEL OF tional Commission for the Protection Restoring rivers and wetlands depends forward in future initiatives. of the Danube River, the capacity and on cooperation between a broad range CROSS-SECTORAL COOPERATION. resources of Coca‑Cola and The Co‑ of different stakeholders, from local PARTNERSHIP THE JUDGES PARTICULARLY NOTED LIVING DANUBE PARTNERSHIP – RESULTS ca‑Cola Foundation, and the facilitation land owners and users, to relevant and expertise of WWF‑CEE to promote authorities, government officials and If there is one key lesson that we have THE PARTNERSHIP’S LONG-TERM IN TERMS OF VOLUME AND AREA river and wetland restoration in the interest groups. Indeed, the Living learned over the past eight years, at COMMITMENT AND COMPLEX Danube basin for people and nature. Danube Partnership has been above basin level and through individual FRESHWATER REPLENISHED RIVERS RESTORED all about partnership – both across projects, it is the power of partner‑ APPROACH. 3 million m hectares river km Coming to the end of the current phase the Danube river basin and within ship – that by working together we of the Living Danube Partnership, we NEUSIEDLER SEE (AT) 0.800 400 the individual projects and initiatives can achieve more than working alone. are proud of what we have achieved implemented across six countries. It Together possible. CROATIAN DRAVA SIDE-ARMS (HR)* tbd 1,000 14.5 over the past eight years (see summa‑ has involved not only our own coopera‑ ry of results). With this publication, tion, but also close work with a myriad LANKÓC FLOODPLAIN FOREST (HU) tbd 513 which is intended particularly for experts and practitioners of river and BARCS-OLD-DRAVA (HU) wetland restoration, we would like to 70.7million 0.088 176 summarize key challenges, solutions ŠIROKI RIT (FRS) 0.145 53 and lessons learned from implement‑ REACHED VIA SOCIAL ing nine restoration projects across AND MASS MEDIA GÂRLA MARE AND VRATA (RO) 5.190 620 six countries. Some but not all of the recommendations developed from the PERSINA & KALIMOK (BG) 7.400 3,700 individual projects are also highlighted by guidance documents. FREE-FISH (BG) n.a. 120.0 A more extensive publication also SOFIA KILIFI IVAN ZAVADSKÝ ANDREAS BECKMANN

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