On Thursday, 12 October 2017, in the premises of the Visitor Center of the Special Nature Reserve Zasavica, the opening conference and introductory workshop for the EcoWet – Evaluation of ecosystem services of wetland ecosystems in the cross-border area of Croatia – Serbia project was held in the presence of over 30 participants and media representatives.
Beside the representatives of all project partners, the conference was attended by the representatives of several protected area managing institutions, numerous non-governmental organizations active in the field of nature protection and students of the Applied Ecology Faculty.
The participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the goals and planned activities of the EcoWet project, the importance and types of ecosystem services as well as examples of good practice in assessing ecosystem services in the Republic of Croatia and Republic of Serbia.
The main objective of the project is to contribute to the protection and sustainable use of wetland ecosystems in flood areas of the Danube River in Croatia and Serbia. The main approach to be used is to introduce and apply a new EU methodology for assessing eco-system services and innovative methods for eco-system preservation and raising awareness, in order to increase the knowledge and skills of target groups and to contribute to awareness of the value of wetland areas.
On this occasion, pilot areas where the methodology for the evaluation of ecosystem services will be tested were selected: Trskavica, Bosut Forest and Zasavica in Serbia, as well as the Special Ornithological Reserve of Podpanj and the Donji Miholjac Fishponds and the Spacva basin in Croatia. The workshop was also an opportunity to establish contacts and exchange experiences among the participants from Croatia and Serbia.
