World’s First 5Country Biosphere Reserve

On the 15th of September 2021, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization popularly known as UNESCO declared the MDD or Mura-Drava-Danube as the first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’ of the world. An area of seven hundred km is been covered by the biosphere reserve. The area it covers is across the rivers of Mura, Drava and Danube. The biosphere reserve stretches across the countries of Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.

What is meant by Biosphere Reserve?

A biosphere reserve is a place that is been developed for learning and sustainable development. As per UNESCO, the biosphere reserves are the places where the interdisciplinary approach takes place to know and manage the developments and interactions among the systems of the ecology.

The world’s first five-country biosphere reserve owns an area of one million hectares and thus happens to be the biggest protected space of the riverine in the entire continent. The target of this biosphere reserve will be to revitalize the rivers of the area of twenty-five thousand km. It also aims to save thirty per cent of the land of the EU by the year ’30.

The MDD or Mura-Drava-Danube reserve is native to various forests (floodplain), banks of sand and gravel, and different islands of the rivers and meadows. The reserve is also native to the white-tailed eagle. The white-tailed eagle is the Europe continent’s highest density breeder. There are more than 150 pairs of white-tailed eagles in the reserve. The MDD or Mura-Drava-Danube reserve is also the home to various species that are been on the endangered list. Such species residing in this reserve include otters, black stork, sturgeons, beavers and so on.

A biosphere reserve is also a place for more than two and a half lakhs of migratory birds for the sake of resting and feeding. The data has been published by the World-Wide Fund for Nature, popularly known as the WWF. It is known that close to nine lakh people reside in the Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve.

Some more projects by considering the development of the people and nurturing of nature have been implemented. The project has been co-financed by the EU and owns total funding of around Euros twenty million. The project has been considered by keeping into focus the revitalization, cooperation along cross borders and practices of the businesses that are sustainable.

One project is the Europe Bike Trail which has been funded by IDTP. It is a cycling event covering a distance of over one thousand two hundred and fifty km. The cycling follows the landscapes of the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers. The bookings that take place for this cycling adventure directly supports the conservation of nature initiatives in the Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve.

The World-Wide Fund for Nature the WWF in its statement about the Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve had said that the MDD contributes immensely to the Green Deal of Europe and also does a contribution to implementing the strategy of biodiversity of the European Union in the biosphere reserve of Mura-Drava-Danube.

Conclusion:

Mura-Drava-Danube biosphere reserve which is popularly known as MDD biosphere reserve is the first ‘five-country biosphere reserve’ in the world. The declaration is been done by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO. The main aim of this biosphere reserve is to revitalize the rivers of the area of twenty-five thousand km. It also aims to save thirty per cent of the land of the EU by the year 2030. The biosphere reserve plays a major role in the nurturing of nature as it is the home to two and a half lakhs of migratory birds for the sake of resting and feeding. Also, the MDD biosphere contributes in a major way to the Green Deal of Europe.