Today, on January 31, 2025, to mark World Wetlands Day and as part of the implementation of the project Preserving and restoring floodplain forest habitats along the Mura-Drava-Danube rivers – LIFE22-NAT-AT-LIFE RESTORE for MDD /101113557, the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Parts of Nature and the Ecological Network of Virovitica Podravina County organized the already traditional winter cycling event titled the 5th Winter Wetlands Bike Tour. Opening remarks were delivered by Tatjana Arnold Sabo, Director of the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Parts of Nature and the Ecological Network of Virovitica Podravina County; Martina Jakelić, Director of the Virovitica-Podravina County Tourist Board, on behalf of County Prefect Igor Andrović; and project manager Lisa Wolf from WWF Austria. The event was also attended by project partners Zeleni Osijek and Međimurje Nature – Public Institution for Nature Protection.

Following the welcome speeches, members of the JU VPC project team took the floor: Vladimir Juhaz, Head of the Bio-Research Station, gave a presentation on the importance of wetland conservation, while Chief Nature Ranger Vladimir Ajhler presented the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project and the activities carried out by the Public Institution so far. The bike tour began at the Visitor center the Drava Story in Noskovci and continued along the cycling route near the Drava River in the municipalities of Čađavica and Sopje. Participants passed through areas designated as the Mura-Drava Regional Park, the transboundary Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve, as well as part of the Natura 2000 ecological network and the European Green Belt, and had the opportunity to learn about wetland habitats along the Drava River.

(Photo: Public Institution VPC, Dragutin Fišli ICV)

The project is co-funded by the European Union. However, the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.