4th “AMAZON OF EUROPE” DAY

Celebrations on the Austrian/Slovenian border Mura, 10 July 2016

Big Jump SLO/AT, © by WWF

More than 30 of the bravest visitors of the “Amazon of Europe” Day in Halbenrain/Apace jumped into the chilly Mura River to celebrate this day with the now traditional Big Jump. At 3 pm sharply, thousands of people jumped into rivers and lakes across Europe and thus showed their support for the protection and restoration of European rivers.

Big Jump SLO/AT, © by WWF
Big Jump SLO/AT, © by WWF

This was the twelfth European Big Jump, an initiative by European Rivers Network and many local partners.

“By organizing this event along the border Mura, we want to draw attention to the importance of protecting this river. With the construction hydropower plants, the Mura will lose its natural characteristics, which are the main reason for tourists to visit the area. This, in turn, has a direct impact on the development of sustainable tourism within the region. Today, we are extremely excited about the positive response and the amount of young people who live along the river. They all have expressed a clear desire to preserve the Mura in its natural state”,

said Andrew Slameršek, coordinator of the campaign “Save the Mura” at WWF.


The Transboundary Biosphere Reserve “Mura-Drava-Danube” (TBR MDD) stretches across Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia, and shall soon become the largest cross-border protected area in Europe. Three rivers form a 700 km-long green belt, which connects almost a million hectare of one of the most important European riverine areas. In Slovenia, the most important part of the TBR MDD is the catchment area of the Mura, which is a Slovenian and European hotspot of biological diversity. This area has furthermore the richest fish diversity is the best preserved catchment area in Slovenia and probably in overall Europe. It is the only basin in Slovenia, which is not divided by dams, and the only basin where fish can swim freely from the Danube dam at Ceršak all teh way up to the Austrian border.

Big Jump SLO/AT, © by WWF
Big Jump SLO/AT, © by WWF

Construction of hydropower plants such as the one planned at Hrastje-Mota (the first of eight hydropower plants to be build on the Mura) would have devastating consequences for the river and it would irreversibly affect all migratory fish species. The society for fish studies in Slovenia, WWF and a coalition of over 40 non-governmental organizations are strongly opposed to this project and call for the protection of this unique river with their “Save the Mura” campaign,”

Ms Slameršek added.

The “Amazon of Europe” Day is also celebrated in remembrance of our late colleague Martin Schneider Jakoby, who pioneered the international protection of the transboundary river system “Amazon of Europe”.

The event was furthermore covered on Slovenian television – to see some footage of the day (in Slovenian language), please klick here.

Prispevek na TVSLO: SKOK V HLADNO MURO, 10. 7. 2016

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