The Danube WILDisland Ramsar Regional Initiative was presented at the 39th National Ramsar Meeting of Austria which took part in October 20-21st in Schrems, Lower Austria.
The event was organized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management, the Province of Lower Austria and the Ramsar Center UnterWasserReich, in coordination with the Joint Provincial Representative Christiane Machold (Vorarlberg). The aim was to present various projects and initiatives related to the implementation of the Ramsar Convention in all Austrian federal states, with a special focus on the activities in line with the national long-term strategies for bogs and floodplain conservation.
As a part of the meeting, the participants had the opportunity to visit the magical Lower Austrian Nature Park Hochmoor Gemeindeau in Heidenreichstein and discover the wonders of bog habitats and conservation. The wonderful exhibition at the Ramsar Center UnterWasserReich in Schrems was also visited. On the second day, participants were led to the Lainsitz River floodplain near Gmünd for a practical example of grazing and management for conservation.
This was an excellent occasion to announce the Danube WILDisland RRI as the newest and the first river-based Ramsar Regional Initiative in Europe and to present the opportunities it offers as a useful tool for achieving national and international goals for cross-sector and cross-border conservation in the field of wetland conservation and promotion of non-intervention management, intact river dynamics, and natural hydrological regimes. Presentation also included the overall goals of the RRI and the short-term plans for the establishment of the Initiative in the upcoming two years.