The International Co-ordinating Council of the UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO MAB-ICC) designated the Mura-Drava-Danube Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (TBR MDD) as the world’s first 5-country biosphere reserve. Stretching across Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia, the reserve covers a total area of 930,000 hectares extending along 700km of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers, which makes it the largest riverine biosphere reserve in Europe.

The UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO MAB) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. There are currently 714 biosphere reserves in more than 129 countries, 21 of which are transboundary. The Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve is also the first in the world to be jointly managed by 5 countries. At the session in Nigeria in September 2021, 20 new biosphere reserves were considered for listing.

The area and its confirmation as a biosphere reserve

The Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Mura-Drava-Danube (TBR MDD) is among the largest alluvial complexes in Europe, extending along the floodplains of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers in Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia. The reserve spans over 700km of free-flowing rivers, boasting an outstanding natural and cultural heritage of Europe and the world. This transboundary biosphere reserve is rich in rare habitats such as large floodplain forests, river channels with natural steep sand and gravel banks, side river branches and oxbow lakes, and hinterlands with traditional cultural landscapes. They are home to the largest population of white-tailed eagles in Europe, nesting sites for many endangered bird species such as sand martins, little terns and black storks, as well as beaver and otter habitats, and many rare fish on a European scale, such as sturgeon. This landscape offers us a shared opportunity to pursue sustainable and nature-based development, which will also be in line with the principles of nature conservation and cultural heritage, and based on active participation of the local population.

The lives of almost a million people, as well as the survival of many species, are linked to the conservation of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers. At a time of significant environmental change, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, this conservation area is crucial for flood protection, climate change mitigation, and the provision of drinking water and fertile land, and is increasingly recognised as a recreation and leisure area, as well as the driving force behind sustainable development.

The endorsement of the TBR MDD provides a basis on which countries, in cooperation with local communities and other stakeholders, have to establish effective coordination, implemation of integrated management and monitoring in order to achieve important environmental objectives at the local level, in each Member State and in the wider region, to pursue sustainable and nature-based development of the lentire arger area,  is also important for achieving the objectives set out in the EU strategies, in particular for biodiversity conservation, water management and climate change. Successful implementation will be a model example of 5-country cooperation on a global scale.

This is now the largest protected river area in Europe and we are so proud that we are a part of this journey with the Amazing Amazon of Europe project.