Ecoregion SKAT

From January 2020 until the end of 2022, the Donau-Auen National Park was project partner in the cross-border project "Ecoregion SKAT". The project was co-financed within the framework of the INTERREG V-A SK-AT cooperation programme. The main objectives included intensified, transnational cooperation between nature conservation actors as well as the improvement and development of ecotouristic educational offers for the Morava-Danube Region with the involvement of the local population in Austria and Slovakia.

The Lower Austrian State Exhibition 2022 in the castle “Marchegg” took place under the motto "Expedition Marchfeld - Experience Nature without Borders" and offered a platform for the presentation of the project results and cross-border cooperation. For the Donau-Auen National Park, Ecoregion SKAT meant continuing to be active beyond the national park and national borders. In cooperation with “Region Marchfeld”, valuable habitats and nature treasures outside the national park were compiled and presented in the course of the exhibition. An education for nature guides and national park rangers provided nature enthusiasts the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and guide guests of the Lower Austrian State Exhibition to the natural treasures of the region.

In addition, cross-border activities of the national park school cooperations and Junior Ranger Camps were promoted through excursions to Slovakian natural sites and student exchanges. A study on natural resources outside the protected areas provided an impulse for nature conservation initiatives in the region. Workshops and nature walks in communities aimed to involve and sensibilise the local population.

Other project partners in Austria were the region Marchfeld and the Neusiedler See - Seewinkel National Park. Project partners in Slovakia were the Bratislava Self-Governing District (BSK), the State Nature Conservation Agency (SNC) and DAPHNE (NGO for environmental education).

A follow-up project is in preparation.

More information in the project video