On November 4th, representatives of the DANUBEPARKS Association together with several LIFE WILDisland project partners – BROZ (Slovakia); Kopacki rit Nature Park (Croatia) and Donau-Auen National Park (Austria) met Natália Kubicová from the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic and coordinator of the Carpathian Wetlands Initiative (CWI). The aim of the meeting was to discuss possible ways of cooperation, since the newly established Danube WILDisland Ramsar Regional Initiative (RRI) is bridging the gap between the Carpathian Wetlands Initiative and the BlackSeaWet and can provide additional boost and incentive for joint work.
Ramsar Regional Initiatives (RRIs) support cooperation and capacity-building on wetland-related issues in specific regions. It represents a platform for collaborating with technical experts and representatives of intergovernmental bodies, International Organization Partners, NGOs, local communities and private companies. There is a total of 22nd RRIs world-wide and five of them are located in Europe - Nordic-Baltic Wetlands Initiative (NorBalWet), Mediterranean Wetlands Initiatve (MedWet), Carpathian Wetland Initiative (CWI) and Black Sea Coastal Wetlands Initiative (BlackSeaWet), together with our youngest Danube WILDisland RRI, established with the LIFE WILDisland project as a way to anchor the initiative on a political scale and achieve its long-term life and sustainability.
Working in close cooperation with other RRI, building on their positive experience and developing joint activities is provided in both the establishment documents of the Danube WILDisland RRI as well as the LIFE project.