SavaLIFE – NatureCommunicationDesign exhibition will be opened on 7 July 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Gallery of Science and Technology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Djure Jaksica 2, Belgrade).

The exhibition stems from the cooperation between the partners of the LIFE Sava biodiversity protection project led by IUCN and the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, and the Faculty of Applied Arts, Studio for Graphic Design. It comprises both the results of a scientific work of experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia undertaken in the past two years along the Sava River, and art designs of students of the Studio for Graphic Design on the subject of protection of natural resources of the Sava River. The exhibition runs until the end of July.

SavaLIFE project addresses the issue of biodiversity conservation of the Sava River basin by finding a form of visual communication to promote action and to make the idea of conserving the Sava’s biodiversity generally known and accepted. SavaLIFE is carried out within the framework of the project Protection of the Biodiversity of the Sava River Floodplain, and is the result of cooperation with the Studio for Graphic Design (course Graphic Communication) at the Faculty of Applied Artс of the University of Belgrade and partners in the Sava biodiversity protection project. A total of fifteen fourth year students studying graphic design at the Faculty of Applied Arts under the mentorship of Professor Zoran Blažina, who met with the staff of IUCN and the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia succeeded in providing their personal contribution to this noble campaign, while bearing in mind the idea that design should promote a high level of culture of visual communication.

Protection of Biodiversity of the Sava River Basin Floodplains
The valley of the Sava River, the second largest tributary of the Danube, is one of the most significant reservoirs of biodiversity in the Pannonian part of Europe. In addition to the exceptional importance of the river for the conservation of nature and the biological and landscape diversity found here, the river is also of fundamental significance to the population living along its banks. This still preserved and vast floodplain along the river is comprised of exceptionally significant habitats for many globally threatened plant and animal species. Like many other similar areas, today the Sava is facing numerous challenges. Certainly one of the most important is how to align development plans with the protection and conservation of the biological and landscape diversity. In order to integrate nature conservation and ecological principles in the overall management of the Sava River, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and Wageningen International, with the support of Orbicon as well as many partners from the region, launched the project entitled Protection of Biodiversity of the Sava River Basin Floodplains, supporting the countries of the Sava River basin to manage the biodiversity along the Sava in a wise and sustainable manner. The project is financed through the LIFE III financial instrument of the EC and implemented in the partnership with the key conservation and land use institutions from the Sava countries – the State Institute for Nature Protection (Croatia), the Center for Ecology and Natural Resources of the Faculty of Science in Sarajevo, the Agricultural Institute of Republic of Srpska, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, and the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation.

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:
IUCN SEE, Lubomira Vavrova, Project manager
Tel: +381 11 2272 411, Mobile: +381 63 358 102, lubomira.vavrova@iucn.org; Web: https://www.iucn.org

Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia, PR Maja Radosavljević
Tel: +381 11 2093 858, Mobile: +381 63 381 480, maja@zzps.rs; Web: www.zzps.rs
Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia, Srdjan Marinčić, Project partner
Tel: +381 11 2093 801, Mobile: +381 63 381 489, srdjan-marincic@zzps.rs; Web: www.zzps.rs