Kick-off conference and workshop

The opening event of the project entitled “Protection of the English oak in the cross-border area” implemented within the Hungary-Croatia Interreg Co-operation Programme 2014-2020 took place on 13 December 2017 in the headquarters of the Pécs Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

At the conference the representatives of the project leader, Mecsekerdő Inc. and their Croatian partner, Nasice Forestry introduced the project called “Oak protection”, the comprehensive objective of which is the protection of the indigenous forests – consisting mainly of English oak – in the cross-border areas, the exploration of the background of forest decays and contaminations, and the preservation of the fertility of soil. The moderator of the opening conference was Tamás Kocsis, Head of Department of Development and Tender Management of Mecsekerdő Inc., also manager of the respective project.

Milán Kiss, development and tendering experts of Mecsekerdő Inc. emphasised during the introduction of the details of the project that the project supported by the European Union would serve in the long run the objectives of nature protection and forest management. The application of subsoil water probes will allow free of charge access to data that both researchers and farmers working in the Dráva Plain will be able to use.

Endre Burián, Head of Department of Forest Management and Nature Protection of Mecsekerdő Inc. emphasised that the mass appearance of invasive species (like tree of heaven or false indigo) pose a challenge for forest managers for which no proven solutions are available for the time being. Failure to make the necessary interventions will not only endanger our forests consisting of indigenous tree species but will also result in considerable economic damage. The project will allow the fighting back of non-desired tree species in a territory of more than 155 hectares, in order to maintain the original ecological conditions of our forests.

Natasa Rap, Head of Department of Ecology of Nasice Forestry Company, reported on the monitoring activity done for almost 20 years in order to have information on the movements of subsoil water in the territory of the Croatian forestry company, as the shortage of water results in more than ten thousand cubic metres of oak decay annually in the territory of Koska Forestry Company. In the framework of the project they intend to create decision supporting models that will promote effective water governance activity in forest areas.

As a closing act of the event, Szabolcs Závoczky, director of the Danube-Dráva National Park Directorate introduced natural values of the Dráva Plain. In his presentation he demonstrated in details the diverse flora and fauna in the Dráva Plain, the protection of which is served by the project, among other things.

The implementation of the event was supported by the European Union.

 

Presentations are downloadable from here: