Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD)

In News

• UNESCO has recently designated Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD) as the world’s first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’.

About Mura-Drava-Danube (MDD)

• It is a biosphere reserve which covers 700 kilometres of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers and stretches across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia.
• It is also called the “Amazon of Europe”.
• The total area of the reserve is around a million hectares which makes it the largest riverine protected area on the continent.

Source: Interreg Danube

Significance 

• Diverse Landforms: 
  • The reserve is home to floodplain forests, gravel and sand banks, river islands, oxbows and meadows.
• Flora and Fauna: 
  • It is home to continental Europe’s highest density of breeding white-tailed eagles (more than 150 pairs). 
  • Many endangered species such as the little tern, black stork, otters, beavers and sturgeons are also found here.
  • It is also an important annual resting and feeding place for more than 250,000 migratory birds, according to WWF.
• Population
  • Almost 900,000 people live in the biosphere reserve.

Benefits

• Recognition to Sustainable Environment Efforts
  • The new reserve represents an important contribution to the European Green Deal. 
  • It also contributes to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the Mura-Drava-Danube region.
    • Aim of the Strategy
      • To revitalise 25,000 km of rivers and 
      • To protect 30 percent of the European Union’s land area by 2030.
• Push to Boost Sustainable Business Practices
  • MDD’s recognition was a mandate to all five countries to jointly advance the protection and revitalisation of the Mura-Drava-Danube area.
• Cross Border Cooperation for Environment
  • The Interreg Danube Transnational Programme-funded Amazon of Europe Bike Trail project is an example of multinational efforts to promote eco-friendly practices.
    • This project is a long-distance cycling trail following the Mura, Drava and Danube river landscapes for over 1,250 km.
  • When booking this cycling adventure, part of the spending directly supports nature conservation initiatives in the region.

Source: DTE