83
WetlandRestoration
inPersina
NWRM IMPLEMENTED
•
N2 Wetland restoration and management
C
ontext
Bulgaria is a
riparian state
of the Danube, and the natural wetlands in the country are important for biodiversity and
traditional livelihoods. Considering its size, the country has a great variety of topographical, climatic and biogeographical
features. The major areas of former and existing wetlands are located along the Danube River and Black Sea coast.
More than 90% of Bulgarian
wetlands
along the Danube River have been lost through
drainage
over the last century.
Drainage has been performed mainly for agricultural purposes, and also to reduce mosquito populations as a measure
to combat malaria. Today the importance of the wetlands for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem benefits has been
reconsidered and the Government of Bulgaria has implemented several restoration projects, which are supported by NGOs.
The project is located in Northern Bulgaria, alongside the
Danube River
, and covers two former wetland sites. Kalimok/
Brushlen (1 755ha) is situated between the towns of Rousse and Tutrakan within Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site, and
Belene Island (2 280ha) is located within Persina Nature Park. The latter is the largest Bulgarian island on the Danube (15-
16.5km long) and divides the river into two arms, northern and southern, where a number of smaller islands are located.
The northern arm is a navigation route with great significance to international transport. The southern arm is barred by a
pontoon bridge with an underwater barrier, so is accessible only to small boats. The dominant land use on these areas is
thus rivers and wetlands, with lowland heath (natural, semi-natural) and arable lands also found on the banks. Soil types in
the area include Fluvisols, Gleysols and Vertisols, with a very gentle slope. The climate is cool temperate dry and the mean
annual river flow in the main river Danube at Belene is approximately 6000m
3
/s.
M
anagement
issues
Along the Bulgarian bank of the Danube, about 1,280km
2
is floodplain. As a result of drainage, the wetland area is now only
about
10%of its original size
at the turn of the century, reducing the capacity of its ecological functions. One of the key
functions is considered to be water purification. Therefore, due to the loss of that natural function,
nutrientpollution
(from
urban waste and agriculture) needs to be mitigated for. Bulgarian wetlands along the Danube provide essential spawning
grounds for numerous species of fish and provide critical winter and feeding habitats for water birds migrating through the
northwest shelf en route from Eurasia to Africa. This function is also threatened by wetland drainage: morphological changes
have altered their
habitats
. Today, the Danube River is classified at
moderateecological status
according to the monitoring
data of Water Framework Directive (WFD) compliance quality elements. The biological monitoring (macro invertebrate fauna)
vary between 2 and 2-3 (of 5 quality classes).
© Directorate of Persina Nature Park
