Delta Dunării

Healful, this land must be

— Isidor

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The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării, pronounced ˈdelta ˈdunərij, Ukrainian: Дельта Дунаю, romanized: Del'ta Dunaju, pronounced delʲˈtɑ dʊnɐˈju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea County), with a small part located in Ukraine (Odesa Oblast). Its approximate surface area is 4,152 square kilometres, of which 3,446 km2 is in Romania. With the lagoons of Razim–Sinoe (1,015 km2), located south of the main delta, the total area of the Danube Delta is 5,165 km2 (1,994 sq mi). The Razim–Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta proper; the combined territory is listed as a World Heritage Site.

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The Delta region includes extensive examples of unaltered rivers, lakes, reed beds, marshes, steppes, dunes, sandbars, coasts, lagoons, salt marshes, and climax forests and therefore is a naturally protected home to massive amounts of waterbirds of all kinds, most notably pelicans, herons, storks, cormorants, and terns. It is a favorite staging area for passage migrants and also wintering grounds for masses of migrating waterbirds from the steppes, the boreal forests, and the tundras further north.

Here also lie some of Europe’s very few remaining grazed mosaic forest landscapes, the beautiful woodlands of Letea and Caraorman with beavers slowly making their return into the area, together with healthy populations of golden jackals, and white-tailed eagles. The massive productivity of the many water habitats here has led to the delta harboring the largest number of fish species anywhere in Europe. Flagship species of which are the four species of sturgeon, which once used to wander the entire length of the Danube River all the way up into Germany.

The area has unprecedented potential for wetland restoration and rewilding; in particular, the former polders and lakes can be reflooded and reconnected with the Danube River dynamics. The Danube Delta ecosystem has undergone a large-scale restoration both on the Ukrianian, Romanian and Moldovian side, mainly through reconnecting large lakes systems with the Danube river dynamics.

The initiative builds on past restoration and conservation initiatives done by founders of the partner organisation in Ukraine side like the reflooding of Ermakov-island and the Tataru project in Izmail Islands park, and Babina and Cernovka islands on the Romanian side.

Local communities in the Danube Delta (the Danube Delta Sub-Basin District supports more than one million people) have little knowledge and limited capacity to use ecosystems in an economically and ecologically sustainable way, directly impacting living standards and biodiversity.

With the delta acting as a historic crossroads, this is an extremely diverse region in terms of nationalities, with each preserving its customs and traditions.

So finally, in year 2000+ the people of the delta have chosen for a more sustainable development and management of the landscape and the wildlife species, providing good conditions for a wildlife based economy that has provided examples of new or additional ways to make a living, based on these wild resources. This includes wildlife watching and the sustainable harvesting and marketing of fish and wild meat in the buffer zones of the rewilding area. This is a vital part of the income for people in the region.

Furthermore, the land's rural exodus, loss of biodiversity and fading traditional culture has been turned into new opportunities, attracting both young and old entrepreneurial people as well as many more and better paying visitors from far outside the region.

Well orchestrated programmes are working to reconnect people with the nature of the delta by developing educational programmes, fostering pride within local communities, and raising awareness among diverse audiences and to create new opportunities for delta communities by supporting the development of nature-based businesses and eco-tourism infrastructure, such as wildlife-watching towers, eco-trails, interpretive panels, and observation hides.

On the Ukrainian side of the delta – where the war has had a profound impact on both society and the regional economy – NGOs are promoting co-existence with wild nature to encourage acceptance of returning wildlife and finally harnessing the healing power of nature through a veteran rehabilitation programme in rewilding areas. This initiative is not only supporting emotional recovery, but is contributing to the local economy and laying the foundation for nature-based business development in the post-war period.