From 18. June to 20 June the first training session of the course “Fit for MDD river restoration” took place as part of the project “LIFE RESTORE for MDD – Preserving and restoring floodplain forest habitats along the Mura-Drava-Danube rivers”. Approximately 35 participants from the five countries Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Austria came to Eastern Tyrol to learn about the about basics of river restoration with a focus on restoring sediment balance by planning measures based on the “River Restoration Toolbox” and to see good practice examples of river restoration at field visits on the rivers Isel und Drava. The certified “Fit for MDD river restoration training” is aiming to create a transfer of knowledge between experts in river restoration and local project partners by having lectures and discussions, working together on example projects and making field visits in the setting of three different stops of the training in Austria and Slovenia.
The project “LIFE RESTORE for MDD – Preserving and restoring floodplain forest habitats along the Mura-Drava-Danube rivers” focuses on the conservation and restoration of the largest contiguous floodplain forest habitat system in the TBR MDD for improving its conservation status.
The rivers in the project area (Mura, Drava and Danube) are facing riverbed incision and water level decrease due to bedload deficit and past river regulation.
The goal of river restoration in the MDD area is to implement measures, which will restore and promote natural hydro-morphodynamic processes in the river channel and floodplain area and to use synergies between water management and nature conservation.