DRAVA LIFE – Integrated River Management

The river Drava © Goran Šafarek

The flood on the river Drava in 2014 © Zdenko Kereša

The embankment of the river Drava © Arno Mohl

The fishermen on the river Drava © Goran Šafarek

The common tern on the Drava gravel banks © Goran Šafarek

About the project

The “DRAVA LIFE – Integrated River Management” project uses an innovative river management approach and aims to create a best practice example of river restoration in Croatia and the region.

The main goal of the project is to improve the Drava’s ecosystem in Croatia, which will be achieved through the implementation of river restoration activities, carried out in cooperation with water management and nature protection authorities, as well as NGOs. The restoration activities will enormously benefit endangered habitats and species within the Natura 2000 sites, they will also contribute to better flood protection of inhabited areas along the Drava River and will increase the recreational value of the area for local people.

310

RIVER KILOMETRES OF THE DRAVA RIVER (RKM 322,8 – 15)

NATURA 2000 SITES

67.8

THOUSAND HECTARES IN 5 COUNTRIES

RESTORATION SITES

1000

METERS OF DYNAMIC RIVER BANKS RESTORED AND PRESERVED

DRAVA LIFE project partners meet for the 39th time!

On 13th and 14th of December 2022 DRAVA LIFE partners met for the 39th time in Hrvatske vode department in Varaždin in a hybrid form. Project partners used the meeting to update each other on the current activities and discuss details of the upcoming restoration activities. Most progress has been made towards the implementation of […]

German tamarisk successfully reallocated on the natural habitats on Drava River

Fifteen river enthusiasts from, High school Arboretum Opeka, Hrvatske vode, State Institute for Environment and Nature Protection for and State Inspectorate led by Public Institution for Management of Protected Natural Areas in Varaždin County have joined their efforts on Friday the 9th of December 2022 in an action of reallocation of 30 plants from the […]

Bern Convention took note of the Action Plan for river birds in the five-country Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube”

On November 29th November 2022, the 42nd Standing Committee of the Bern Convention* took note of the Action Plan for river birds in the five-country Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube” and invited the five countries to follow up on its implementation. This will help to strengthen the efforts and necessary actions in order to protect river birds […]

New book about the Drava River

From the creative pen of author and photographer Goran Šafarek, the new book about the Drava River – Drava jučer, danas, sutra (The Drava River – Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow) – summarizes most relevant information about the river and illustrates them with beautiful pictures. It provides valuable knowledge about the physical characteristics of the river, social […]

Excursion to Allier and Loire Rivers in France

Finally, after 2 years of the pandemic, in July of 2022, the DRAVA LIFE team could visit one of the wildest and most impressive rivers in Western Europe: river Allier, a tributary to river Loire, in France. Thanks to an early initiative of restoration actions starting in the 1980ies, including dam prevention and removal plus […]

Useful workshop on river restoration in Nußdorf-Debant

This May the DRAVALIFE project team took part in a river restoration workshop in Nußdorf-Debant, Austria. The course was organized by the Integrative planning office REVITAL and WWF Austria. The participants from water management, nature conservation and NGOs learned about river restoration measures to improve sediment balance of rivers according to the newly published river […]

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