Gornje Podunavlje 3.63

Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve is a large protected area of wetland in the northwest of Serbia, on the Danube's left bank. It comprises two large marshes, Monoštorski Rit and Apatinski Rit and vast forests, meadows, ponds, swamps and the Danube's meanders, including 66km of the Danube course . It is projected as a part of the future trans-boundary biosphere reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube", a five country project, dubbed the "Amazon of Europe".The name means "Upper Danube Valley". Parts of the nature reserve are subject to the Croatia–Serbia border dispute; Croatia claims some areas under Serbian control on the eastern side of the river.ProtectionBackgroundIn the past 200 years, the amelioration of the area, especially the draining of the marshes, reduced once vastly spread wetland ecosystems in the Pannonian Basin to several patches along the major rivers. During that period, the rivers in the Bačka region were turned into the canals. Obsolete ideas of turning the natural streams into canals without gravel or sand in their beds was done allegedly for better sailing and floods prevention. However, in time dozens of plant and animal species disappeared and even the human population was affected by this process: fish catch diminished and underground waters, used for drinking, were not being purified through the soil anymore.EstablishmentThe first designation as a protected area dates back to 1955, when an area of 10km2 was proposed as an important habitat for the white-tailed eagle and the black stork. Since then, the area included and the level of protection has been gradually increased. Gornje Podunavlje was designated as a Special Nature Reserve in 2001, with a total size of 19,648ha.