On August 19th representatives of viadonau, Donau-Auen National Park and RIOCOM had a formal hearing with the relevant authorities for final discussion of the technical plans related to the revitalization of the Schwalbeninsel island complex, located in Donau-Auen NP, Austria.
The planners presented once again the upcoming measures for embankment removal and groyne adaptation in front of the authorities, responsible for navigation and hydraulic engineering; fishery; shipping supervision Hainburg; and District administration Bruck/Leitha.
As a part of the hearing, the delegation visited the Schwalbeninsel complex to check the current state of the river bank and discuss the upcoming construction works on site.
We are happy to share that we received no major objections, comments or requests for edits, which means that we are hoping to soon obtain the formal permits. Once the permits are received, the team will initiate the procurement process and hire a construction company to hopefully start the practical work on site latest in the autumn/winter of 2025.
In the meantime, we have obtained the results of the on-site sampling of the embankment and groynes so we can assess the practical costs of their removal and estimate the amount of measures feasible within the available funding. The Donau-Auen NP has scheduled a meeting with viadonau to once again discuss the prioritization of the measures described in the technical planning which will be done within the LIFE WILDisland to achieve maximal potential and ecological benefits of the works on site.
