Five European countries are proposing to create a nature preserve larger than Yellowstone. It would contain the continent's greatest concentration of breeding white-tailed eagles/Mario Romulic

It's being called the "Amazon of Europe," a sprawling, five-country nature preserve covering 2.3 million acres and stretching 435 miles. The five countries -- Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia -- submitted an application for the designation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and hope to gain approval next June.

"This landmark cross-border nomination is a powerful demonstration of a shared green vision that builds on, and reinforces both regional cooperation and unity in Europe. It is a significant step forward in protecting the region’s natural treasures and serves as a striking example of how nature conservation can bring countries together,” said Andreas Beckmann, CEO of WWF Central and Eastern Europe.

The envisioned preserve touches the Mura, Drava and Danube rivers, and would become Europe's largest river protection area, according to proponents.

The basis for the nomination was forged in 2011 when the environmental ministers of all five countries signed a joint declaration committing themselves to establishing the trans-border biosphere reserve. In 2012, the riverine areas in Croatia and Hungary were granted biosphere reserve status, soon followed by Serbia (2017), Slovenia (2018) and Austria (2019). The joint nomination connects all five pieces into one coherent protected area. The strictly protected core and buffer zone consisting of 13 major individual protected areas amounts to 691,895 acres. It is surrounded by 1.6 million acres of transitional zone.

Within the proposed preserve, characterized by floodplain forests, gravel and sand banks, river islands and oxbows, live Europe’s highest density of breeding white-tailed eagle, as well as endangered species such as the little tern, black stork, otters, beavers and sturgeons. It is also an important annual resting and feeding place for more than 250,000 migratory birds.

“Five countries have agreed to jointly protect an area which is one of the richest in terms of species diversity in Europe. Such floodplain areas are only surpassed by tropical rainforests,” said Arno Mohl, programme leader at WWF-Austria and long-time campaigner for the protection of the Mura, Drava and Danube Rivers.

Groups supporting the preserve say by protecting the rivers' floodplains it would in turn protect settlements from floods and ensure clean drinking water supplies. Economically, the landscapes would raise the potential for sustainable tourism development. 

 “In times of the climate crisis and the vast extinction of species, it becomes a matter of survival to protect our last natural areas. The new biosphere reserve is an important step away from nature exploitation such as destructive hydropower dam or sediment extraction projects. It paves the way for a sustainable co-existence of people and nature,” said Mohl.