Restoration of oxbows and floodplains on the Morava River, Slovakia

General

National Id

Slovakia_01

Site name

Morava floodplain, Tatras forests, and Eastern Carpathians

Summary

The annual cycle of flows in the Morava River, south of Bratislava, and its tributaries were modified in three sites leading to restoration of the wetland biotic complexes and movements between fragments of habitat isolated by land use. Thanks to Biodiversity Protection project, funded by the Global environmental Trust Fund and national funds, 4 oxbows and over 19km of floodplain were restored.

Light or indepth?

Light

NUTS Code

Bratislavský kraj

RBD code

SK40000

Transboundary

Data provider

REC

Source(s)

Biodiversity GEF Project

NWRM(s) implemented in the case study

Re-meandering

Longitude

17.207

Latitude

48.0575

Site information

Climate zone

cool temperate moist

Mean rainfall

600

Mean rainfall unit

mm/year

Average temperature

10,8000001907349

Average runoff coefficient

0,25

Type

Case Study Info

Vegetation class

floodplain forests

Monitoring maintenance

Administrative annual cost information

435000USD: Computerization, monitoring and Data management

Design & implementations

Application scale

Field Scale

Installation date

1998-06

Area subject to Land use change or Management/Practice change (ha)

250

Constraints

Some stretches of natural river beds and fluvial processes remain especially in the Morava River and its tributary, the Rudava.

Favourable preconditions

The area is theoretically protected at this time as national parks, nature reserves or landscape protected areas

Contractural arrangements

Design contractual arrangement

Arrangement type	Responsibility	Role	Comments	Name
Contractual agreement			between Slovak Republic (the Recipient) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development	GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT TRUST FUND GRANT AGREEMENT

Design consultation activity

Activity stage	Key issues	Name	Comments
Design phase		Workshops	in the slovak Republic with management and research personnel and the Slovak ministry of environment Department of Nature and Landscape conservation. Designed to provide key interventios and develop institutional capacieities and the focus of activity will be on three areas.

Design land use change

Land use change type
Permanently irrigated land

Design authority

Authority type	Role	Name
National water authority	Initiation of the measure	Department of Nature and Lndscape Conservation; Ministry of Environment
National water authority		Czech Republic Authority
National water authority		Austrian Auhority
NGO		WWF

Lessons, risks, implications...

Key lessons

Institutional stability is a key condition for project success; professional development is a vital step in building human capacity; explicit targets help managers identify the success, cost-effectiveness and basic usefulness of most components throughout implementation; involving NGOs during implementation were key to success.

Financing mechanism

Financing mechanism information

The project funded as well the professional development and training needed to secure the restored ecosystems.

Financing difficulties

Financing difficulties information

Project co-funding from Austrian EcoFund (363250e) never materialized and caused re-organization of Project components and budgets

Success factor(s)

Success factor type	Success factor role	Comments
Other	main factor	Insitutional stability
Other	secondary factor	Involving NGOs
Attitude of decision makers	secondary factor	Qualified and very committed professionals within the PMCU
Existing staff and consultant knowledge	secondary factor	Establishment of the Joint Scientific Advisory committes proved usefull for provideing guidance to the project activities and specially for increasing awareness of the project among the national and international scientific and academic community.

Financing

Financing type	Comments
Other	Global Environmental Trust Fund
Other	MacArthur Foundation
National funds	Austrian EcoFund
National funds	Slovak Government

Barrier

Barrier type	Barrier role	Comments
Other	main barrier	The project came in the first year of on-going changes in legislative, administrative and institutional arrangements in Slovakia
Other	secondary barrier	Ongoing re-privatization of land prevented forest restoration activities
Other	secondary barrier	Frequent changes in high positions in the Ministry of Environment officials in Nature conservation section
Other	secondary barrier	Some leakage of trainees occurs because of salary inequities.

Driver

Driver type	Driver role	Comments
Organisation committed to it	main driver

Financing share

Financing share type	Share	Comments
National funds	3		View
European funds	72,5500030517578		View

Policy, general governance and design targets

Policy description

Biodiversity degradation through pollution, overuse by visitors and complex impacts from adjacent land uses. The forests have been cut, water table reduced, and spring floods interrupted and the native meadows have been converted to cropland.
The floodplain forests have been reduce. the water table has dropped and spring floods have been interrupted. Large areas of meadow were ploughed up and converted in to arable fields. the once continuous flood plain area has been transformed into a mosaic of remnant natural areas and areas of intensive management.

Part of wider plan

Policy target

Target purpose
Improved Biodiversity

Policy pressure

Pressure directive	Relevant pressure

Policy area

Policy area type	Policy area focus	Name	Comments

Policy impact

Impact directive	Relevant impact

Policy wider plan

Wider plan type	Wider plan focus	Name	Comments

Policy requirement directive

Requirement directive	Specification

Socio-economic

Direct benefits information

To protect ecological zones of substantial international importance, reduce loss of species, restore ecosystems and maintain a high level of diversity. Forested innovation by integration of various levels of biological diversity to address issues in conservation planning.
The project will complement other activities such a Bank-financed forestry development loan and GEF-supported protection activities. Components of the project are also directed to integrating planning outside the strictly protected areas in consultation with affected communities and interests.

Ancillary benefits information

Trough research and monitoring in these areas, knowledge will be gained as to how human activities have affected, and are affecting, different types of ecosystems and habitats, and how this actions can be changed to keep these areas and the societies that depend on them, healthy.

Costs total

2326658

Costs total information

2300000(GEF Project Grant)+870000(Co-financing Total)= 3170000 USD
Restoration-Morava: 256000USD --> 187972 €

Information on Economic costs - income loss

70000USD

Ecosystem improved biodiversity

Information on Ecosystem improved biodiversity

Restoration of riparian vegetation, fish and breeding birds

Information on Ecosystem provisioning services

N/A info

Ecosystem impact climate regulation

Not relevant for the specific application

Biophysical impacts

Information on retained water

N/A info

Information on increased water storage

Arable lands now are meadows where water stay for longer periods of time.

Water quality overall improvements

N/A info

Information on Water quality overall improvements

N/A info

Soil quality overall soil improvements

N/A info

Information on Soil quality overall soil improvements

N/A info