Forest ecosystems in Poland have long suffered from drought. From the mid-90s, the Polish forest management authority undertook a variety of small-scale water retention works, financed from a combination of its own and external funds (i.e. the Polish Ecofund, and the Polish National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management). In 2006, the authority consolidated all its initiatives into a single project ‘Increasing retention and...
There are three measures applied in the national park area primarily for nature rehabilitation, but all measures have water retention aspects. (1) Creating ponds in the forest where run off from forestry roads are collected. The main goal is to create safe breeding ground for reptiles instead of temporary sumps on the roads. (2) Re-vegetating shelterbelts (groves, wetlands) in agricultural land where 50 years ago these landscape elements were...
Within an Austrian LIFE Nature project, gravel banks have been established along the Danube in the Wachau, and dried site-arms have been reconnected. The measures aimed at improving biodiversity through providing spawning habitats, as well as controling erosion and run-off. As a particularity, the gravel used in the project stemmed from maintenance works for the shipping channel of the Danube. The project has been initiated and implemented by...
The Bas Rhin department is sensitive to muddy water flows occuring during Spring and early summer storms, which impact farmers and villages located downstream of agricultural plots. In order to reduce this risk, the Agriculture Chamber and the local authorities are working together to develop ways of combating these phenomena, which are harmful to downstream areas. Within this partnership framework, a diagnosis of the erosion and mudslides...
WWF Danube Carpathina program, together with local people from Mindya village in the region of Veliko Turnovo, restored the connection of Veselina River, a tributary of Yantra, with its former meander near the village.
The Liberty Island is located in South-Hungary northward from Mohács at the left side of the Danube. Its length is about 3 km, its width is 150-200 meters, and its territory is 47 ha. The island and the side-arm belong to the Danube-Drava National Park and are part of the Natura 2000 network. The island is a strictly protected nature conservation area. Along the side branch, on the left side of the Danube, the local water service company has...
The River Tolka runs through Dublin, Ireland. A series of measures was applied to the urban sections of the river to slow flood flows, reduce pollution and support wildlife. These included the establishment of retention ponds to manage runoff storage; bank engineering to slow flows and prevent erosion; and planting trees along the river to slow runoff. Two phases of retention pond construction have been carried out, the latter as part of a...