The SavaParks Network, which has been initiated by EuroNatur, received an EU funding grant for a new Sava conservation project. The launch event took place in Novi Sad, Serbia, in early October. This INTERREG project is about investigating invasive alien species and how to control them in a semi-natural river landscape.
In many stretches, the Sava can still flow freely and act as a landscape designer.
© Mario Zilec
The Croatian Posavina horses are a native horse breed and an important tool for the management of invasive alien species.
© Martin Schneider-JacobyThe Sava is the largest tributary of the Danube by discharge and flows through several countries of former Yugoslavia. In large parts the river is still unspoilt in its natural dynamics. Just one example of the outstanding importance of the river is Lonjsko Polje in Croatia, which EuroNatur has been committed to protect since its foundation. Many rare animal and plant species live here and elsewhere along the Sava, but they are threatened not only by power plants or gravel mining, but also by the spread of invasive alien species.
These are animal and plant species which are not native to an ecosystem, often spread beyond control and negatively affect long-established species. Invasive alien species that already occur frequently on the Sava include tree of heaven and Japanese knotweed. The Sava TIES project “Preserving Sava River Basin Habitats through Transnational Management of Invasive Alien Species” will examine their impact on ecosystems and options to control these species. For this model cross-border nature conservation project, the SavaParks Network offers the perfect framework.
Project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA)