Regional Park Mura-Drava in the Koprivnica-Križevci County is part of the larger transboundary regional park Mura- Drava which was protected in 2008 and stretches from the border with the Republic of Slovenia to the Danube through 5 countries. The Park’s landscape reveals a natural riverbed with many meanders and backwaters with a variety of animal and plant life. This is homeland of the naive painting. The proposed Regional Park includes 12 villages (some of the scattered settlements - "konaki") with 3,000 inhabitants. The cities of Koprivnica and Djurdjevac are located 10 km from the Drava river. Podravina is a very agricultural area with developed food industry (Podravka-"Vegeta") and the largest deposit of natural gas (2/3 of the production in the Republic of Croatia) where geothermal water was also discovered.
Status: Preventive protected area Project partner active in the area:
Location and size: The Regional Park stretches from the border with the Republic of Slovenia to the Danube through 5 counties. The pilot area includes the Regional Park Mura-Drava, the only such park in the Koprivnica-Križevci County. The pilot area covers 16.700 hectares.
Issues / challenges:
- The lack of communication between responsible institutions on the national and regional levels causes insufficient biodiversity management in the preventive protected area.
- No proper biodiversity management plan is available for the preventive protected area.
- The lack of sustainable development and insufficient promotion of the preventive protected area are present issues (lack of consensus, lack of scientific data about biodiversity and spatial plan, lack of joint promotion and tourist strategy, week participation with local communities, lack of investments).
- Depopulation has increased by 50% in the last half century.
- Improved communication and cooperation between institutions and regional and local policy (regarding nature protection in the Regional Park).
- Reached agreement about common management principles and measures, prepared studies on biodiversity, tourism, agriculture, mineral exploitation, forestry, water management, fishing, hunting in the Regional Park.
- Involvement of local authorities, communities and inhabitants into the management process.
- Cross-sector network and good practices presented to the relevant authorities.
- Developed ideas for further investment projects in the Reginoal Park.
- Prepared draft Management Plan for the Drava river.
- Promotion activities and stakeholders’ awareness raising (Web site, brochures for the promotion of natural assets).
For more information please see those links: