On November 7th, representatives of the DANUBEPARKS Association together with several LIFE WILDisland project partners – Persina Nature Park (Bulgaria) and Donau-Auen National Park (Austria) had an online meeting with Chris Rostron, the new coordinator of the of the Slovak Republic and coordinator of the Mediterranean Wetlands Initiatve (MedWet). The aim of the meeting was to discuss possible ways of cooperation, since the MedWet is among the oldest, biggest and most active RRIs with 27 countries and entities on board and more than 30 years of experience and a true inspiration for the newly established Danube WILDisland Ramsar Regional Initiative.
Ramsar Regional Initiatives (RRIs) support cooperation and capacity-building on wetland-related issues in specific regions. They represent a platform for collaborating with technical experts and representatives of intergovernmental bodies, International Organization Partners, NGOs, local communities and private companies. There are a total of 22nd RRIs world-wide and five of them are located in Europe - Nordic-Baltic Wetlands Initiative (NorBalWet), Mediterranean Wetlands Initiatve (MedWet), Carpathian Wetland Initiative (CWI) and Black Sea Coastal Wetlands Initiative (BlackSeaWet), together with our youngest Danube WILDisland RRI, established with the LIFE WILDisland project as a way to anchor the initiative on a political scale and achieve its long-term life and sustainability.
Working in close cooperation with other RRI, building on their positive experience and developing joint activities is provided in both the establishment documents of the Danube WILDisland RRI as well as the LIFE project.
We will also explore the opportunities to join the European Coalition for Wetlands (E-CoWet).
