The award-winning ceremony for the Panda Award, the highest prize which WWF awards in four categories, took place at Interspot Filmstudios in Vienna on 28th April. In 2001, when plans to construct a new hydropower plant near Novo Virje became known, eight Croatian NGOs joined forces and founded the platform Dravska-Liga to combat the project.

Helena He´c imovi´c , born in Koprivnica, Croatia, in 1954, was president of the platform until 2004. Together with Hungarian partners, they collected more than 10,000 signatures from project opponents.

Receiving further support through the annually organised Drava Day, the platform has successfully prevented plant construction until the present day. He´c imovi´c , who is a language teacher for English and French, was honoured with the Panda Award for her uncompromising commitment in this project as well as in subsequent “assaults” waged against the Drava River.

Klaus Michor was born in Nussdorf-Debant, East Tyrol, in 1961. His commitment towards watercourses first attracted public attention in 1996, when he was honoured with the Tyrolean Water Award for his innovative water management concepts.

Michor obtained a university degree in landscape ecology and landscape design from the Vienna University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences and has remained affiliated to water ever since. He has also been coordinator of the LIFE project “Auenverbund Obere Drau” (dedicated to wetlands in the Upper Drava region) since 1999 and project manager of Alpenrhein River Development Programme since 2002.

Klaus Michor received the Panda Award 2006 for his work as environmental consultant specialising in watercourse management, which he started with the foundation of his company REVITAL ecoconsult ten years ago.
(Source: aqua press Int. 2/2006)