Bringing Water Back to Nature – Revitalising Habitats

The Duna–Dráva National Park Directorate is carrying out a multi-phase habitat rehabilitation programme in the Boronka Landscape Protection Area. Nearly 50 years of regulated stream management have accelerated watercourses, preventing natural floods and shallow wetlands from forming, which led to the decline of wetland habitats. The current interventions focus on retaining water in the landscape, restoring the natural meandering of the stream, and regenerating related habitats (marshes, wet meadows, riparian forests) – thereby expanding stable habitats for characteristic bird species and improving the water supply of forests.
Phase 1 (6–8 ha, ~1.5 km): In 2020, building on our expertise in water management and environmental engineering, Realiscon prepared the construction plans for the first phase of the Boronka stream’s nature-harmonious rehabilitation and compiled the relevant chapters of the EVD (Preliminary Assessment Documentation) on the protection of water and geological media. The restoration of the stream bed was implemented in 2022.
Phase 2 (90–100 ha, ~7 km): Building on the positive results of the earlier works and with new EU funding, a larger-scale rehabilitation is now underway. Realiscon has contributed by managing the design and permitting processes. Following the baseline surveys (LiDAR-based contour mapping, geotechnical investigations), we prepared the permit-level designs and launched the permitting procedure. In parallel, we compiled the EVD and the Natura 2000 impact assessment. The planned technical measures include the re-meandering of previously straightened sections, the closure of artificial channels, spreading water back into the landscape, and enhancing groundwater recharge. The construction designs are expected to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026, depending on the permitting process.
The project, officially titled “Rehabilitation of regulated watercourses in the Boronka Landscape Protection Area, improvement of water retention”, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2029.