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Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity. Biodiversity is declining in Europe. Floodplain forests and wet meadows are vanishing, and the cultural landscape is changing. Areas that are more easily accessible and living environments that are less interesting from an economic standpoint are particularly affected. The European Union established a network of Natura 2000 sites to halt and reverse the extinction of plant and animal species.

With the Natura 2000 network, we protect the yellow-bellied toad and the Italian crested newt

The Italian crested newt (Triturus carnifex) and the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata) are Natura 2000 - Drava qualifying species. They are generally widespread amphibians in Slovenia that are vulnerable to environmental changes, which also applies to the rest of the amphibians. Both amphibians are distinguished by their ability to live in a variety of intermittent, stagnant, or slow-flowing water environments devoid of fish, surrounded by riparian vegetation, swampy and species-rich meadows, hedgerows, and so on.

What threatens them?

The filling, drying, and overgrowth of former river arms, oxbow lake, ponds and depressions, as well as the reduction and fragmentation of living space or habitat, pose threats to both amphibians. Protecting the appropriate aquatic and terrestrial habitats, as well as their interconnections is therefore necessary for the conservation of these species.

What have we done to help the two critically endangered amphibian species?

We created new and restored existing water habitats (ponds, oxbow lakes, river arms,) as part of the zaDravo project. We also indirectly contributed to a more favourable microclimate in the area, as well as an increase in local species diversity and a reduction in flood risk.