On Friday, February 10, 2023, a ceremony marking the 12th anniversary of the declaration of the Mura – Drava Regional Park was held in the Podravlje Educational Visitor Center. The Mura-Drava Regional Park is a protected natural area declared on February 10, 2011 by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. Although it is not certified by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), it belongs to the IUCN category V – protected landscape. The Mura-Drava Regional Park extends through 5 counties: Međimurska, Varaždinska, Koprivničko-Križevačka, Virovitičko-Podravska and Osiječko-Baranjska counties, with a total area of 87,680.52 ha. This year, the organizers of the celebration of the 12th anniversary of the declaration are the Public Institution for Nature Protection of Osijek-Baranja County and Hrvatske šume d.o.o. The meeting was opened by the Director of the Public Institution for Nature Protection, Igor Ružička, emphasizing the importance of the partnership between the five counties in which the Park is located.
Given that the largest part of the Mura-Drava Regional Park is located in the Osijek-Baranja County, slightly more than 26,000 ha, which makes up about 30%, we feel a great responsibility towards this protected area, which we strive to deservedly promote and properly protect – said Igor Ružička, Director of the Public Institution for Nature Protection Osijek-Baranja county.
The center primarily serves to educate school children, but also interested groups about the biodiversity of the Mura-Drava Regional Park, and so far 101 workshops have been held, attended by more than 4,500 participants.
The goal is for the Educational Visitor Center “Podravlje” to continue to be a place of education, but also of meetings, gatherings and knowledge exchange related to biological diversity among scientists, experts and all those who love nature – said Ph.D. Vlado Jumić, Head of the Osijek Branch Forest Management.
At the same time, it should be emphasized that “Podravlje” is the only visitor center in the area of the Regional Park in Osijek-Baranja County.
Representatives of partners within the Regional Park area presented their activities and projects.
The goal of the meeting was the mutual cooperation of various institutions whose primary or secondary activity is nature protection, as well as those that directly participate in the continuous development and protection of the subject area.
We are proud that the Naturavita project is part of this beautiful story.