ConnectGREEN Restoring and managing ecological corridors in mountains as the green infrastructure in the Danube basin
The Danube-Carpathian region is one of Europe´s last remaining strongholds for the large carnivore species: gray wolf, Eurasian lynx and brown bear, protected under EU law. Unfortunately, the planned infrastructure developments threaten to cut through the movement corridors of large carnivores and increase the fragmentation of their habitats.
Photo © Thomas Hulik/WWF
Very few spatial planners have the knowledge and experience to ensure that conflicts between development and nature conservation are minimized as they develop new plans. More importantly, legally binding mechanisms taking into consideration the requirements of functioning ecological corridors is poorly implemented, mainly because of the lack of reliable data. These effects require a coherent transnational approach as the large carnivores frequently move across state borders in search of food, mates or other needs.
Thorough ConnectGREEN project, partners from different countries and various fields of activity (spatial planning, research, government, biodiversity conservation) joined forces to increase the capacity of ecological corridors identification and management and to overcome the conflict between infrastructure development and wildlife conservation. Valuable knowledge and experience will be made available to spatial planners and vice versa for finding the best ways to develop infrastructure and other plans in order secure ecological connectivity in the Carpathians.
Read project objectives from here
Long term solutions for wildlife movements
The ecological corridors will be identified in more detail by using the new Carpathian-wide methodology in 4 transnationally relevant pilot sites: 1. Piatra Craiului National Park (Romania); 2. Apuseni-SW Carpathians (Romania)/ National Park Djerdap (Serbia); 3. Western Carpathians (Czech Republic - Slovakia) and 4. Bükk National Park (Hungary)/ Cerová vrchovina Protected Landscape Area (Slovakia).
Maintaining or restoring ecological corridors will secure a viable population of large carnivores in the Carpathians and maintain one of the largest biodiversity hotspots and functioning ecosystems on the continent. Moreover, this new joint approach is meant to accelerate the implementation processes and put into practice much-awaited infrastructure developments that faces the risk of being delayed due to non-conformity with safety and environmental standards.
You can support this process by prioritizing biodiversity in the list of environmental criteria, by participating in consultations and by sharing the knowledge.
- Start date
- 01-06-2018
- End date
- 31-05-2021
- Budget in Euro
- Overall: 2462923,53
- ERDF Contribution: 1920592,41
- IPA Contribution: 172892,55
- ENI Contribution: 0
- Call number
- Call 2
- Priority
- Environment and culture responsible Danube region
- Specific objective
- Foster the restoration and management of ecological corridors
Project Partners
| Name | Type | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WWF DCP Romania | Lead partner | cpapp@wwfdcp.ro | ROMANIA |
| WWF International Danube-Carpathian Programme | ERDF partner | hmeyer@wwfdcp.org | AUSTRIA |
| Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic | ERDF partner | martin.strnad@nature.cz | CZECH REPUBLIC |
| Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening | ERDF partner | romportl@vukoz.cz | CZECH REPUBLIC |
| Szent Istvan University | ERDF partner | kollanyi.laszlo@tajk.szie.hu | HUNGARY |
Project News
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ConnectGREEN - Ecological Connectivity receives international boost UNGA Resolution on Ecological Connectivity
- 26-04-2021
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopts a resolution entitled “Nature knows no borders” on transboundary cooperation in environmental conservation, including the preservation of ecological connectivity for wildlife. In so doing, the...
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ConnectGREEN - 194 million birds and 29 million mammals killed on European roads each year
- 15-04-2021
An article released in the scientific research journal ‘Frontiers in Ecology and Environment’ found that an estimated 194 million birds and 29 million mammals are killed on road in Europe every year. In their study entitled ‘Roadkill risk and...
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ConnectGREEN - Which animals are using Slovakia's green bridges?
- 16-02-2021
At the end of last year, the Slovak National Motorway Company (NDS) launched a public tender for the construction of a green bridge in Svrčinovec, Kysuce. It will be the fourth ecoduct built by the NDS in Slovakia. Where are the others and which...
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ConnectGREEN - Hidden cameras in the Czech Republic capture rare visitors on film
- 18-01-2021
At the end of September 2020, ConnectGREEN team members working for the Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening (VUKOZ) in the Czech Republic finished collecting the camera footage from its camera traps in the...
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ConnectGREEN - Intensifying cooperation for biodiversity conservation in the Carpathians
- 07-12-2020
On December 2nd 2020, representatives from WWF-CEE, WWF Romania and CEEweb participated in the roundtable meeting of the Steering Committee of the Carpathian Network of Protected Areas (CNPA) on behalf of ConnectGREEN. The aim of the meeting,...
