The Regelsbrunner Au (Danube floodplains) was "purchased free" within a nation-wide fundraising campaign organised by WWF in 1990, with the help of thousands of donors. Since then, the forestry management, hunting and fishing have been transformed to turn the area into a national park.
The regulations were made part of the management plan of the National Park Company in 1999. "No substantial changes will occur after the takeover either", Carl Manzano, Director of the National Park emphasized. "The area can however be better and more intensively taken care of if in the hands of an agency whose main scope of activities it comprises."
Provincial Governor Dr. Erwin Proell pointed at the occasion to the fact that the purchase action in 1990 represented also a political signal supporting protection and conservation of Danube floodplains, as well as a milestone on the road towards turning them into national parks. "The Province of Lower Austria warrants that, also in the future, this area will be administered in accordance the wishes of those who donated for the purposes of the Regelsbrunner Au in 1990," Proell declared.
The Transfer Agreement contains clauses that confirm the official waiver by WWF of any claims concerning damages that it may be entitled to in its capacity as land owner. A second agreement was signed by the National Parks Company to also take over fishing rights. The corresponding compensation amounting to 902.959 EUR will be spent by WWF on the conservation of lowland forests in Eastern Europe.
Information & Contact:
Nationalpark Donau-Auen GmbH
Fadenbachstrasse 17
A-2304 Orth an der Donau
Phone: +43 2212 34 50
Fax: +43 2212 34 50-17
