Researchers join forces to create a greener, more sustainable Danube Region

Coordinated in Hungary by the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research (HUN-REN CER), this international project supports ecological planning in line with the EU’s nature restoration objectives and the anticipated impacts of climate change. The initiative aims to contribute to the restoration of natural habitats and to enhance landscape resilience in the face of future environmental challenges. In addition to HUN-REN CER, professional partners from five other countries — Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia — are also involved in the project.

The project brings together research institutions, nature conservation bodies at local, regional and national levels, as well as forestry planning authorities. Their collaboration aims to promote ecologically informed landscape management and restoration that will enable landscapes to continue supporting the well-being of wildlife — and, through the ecosystem services they provide, the well-being of people — even under the pressures of climate change.

As part of the collaboration, freely accessible online maps and databases will be developed to provide broad, user-friendly support for local and regional ecological restoration planning — and thereby also assist in implementing the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. The maps will indicate the suitability of specific sites for various habitat restoration objectives — such as habitats of community interest or ecological corridors.

As part of the project, researchers and partners will develop five climate-informed action plans aimed at improving the ecological connectivity and natural condition of the Sava and Danube river corridors.

The public launch event of the CLIMANATRES Danube Interreg project was held on 21 July in Vácrátót, at the Institute of Ecology and Botany of the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research. Further details about the event and the project are available on the official websites of the institute and the project.