Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority
At the end of a course of over 2,840 kilometer, collecting the water from a vast hydrological basin that exceeds 8% of the area of Europe, the Danube has during the last 16.000 years built at its mouth with the Black Sea one of the most beautiful deltas in Europe, perhaps in the whole world. The Danube Delta is famous as one of the greatest wetlands of the Earth.
The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve was established in 1990. To administrate the natural heritage of national interest from the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and to protect the physical and geographical units of the Biosphere Reserve, a public organization was created: the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority. The main objectives of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority for the management of the Biosphere Reserve are the conservation and protection of the existing natural heritage, the encouragement of sustainable use of the natural resources, and the provision of support, based on the results of research, for management, education and training.
The Danube Delta is the only Delta in the world entirely declared as Biosphere Reserve, and after Volga's and Kuban's Deltas the third biggest delta of Europe. It surface stretches over 580,000 hectares of land, which equals 2,5 % of Romania's surface. The water formations include running waters of the Danube and its branches, fresh still waters such as big lakes, still salted or brackish waters, coastal lagoons connected to the sea, and marine coastal areas. The wetlands include aquatic vegetation on the borders (reedbeds, floating islands, willow formations, meadows on flooded banks associated with willows). The forests, shrubs and grassy vegetations include temperate river plains (mixt forests of oaks), shrubs, grassy areas (steppe meadows, meadows on marine levees, on fossil loess or calcareous soil), and open areas (dunes, shifting sand dunes with little vegetation, coastal belts, and beaches).
The Danube Delta is a living museum of biodiversity, with 30 types of ecosystems, the biggest area of compact reed beds on the planet, and the habitat of the waterfowl. As such, it functions as a natural genetic bank with inestimable value for the natural world heritage.
All projects from this organization
Water Management for Birds
The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve remains famous for its birds. It is home for the nesting bird populations like the white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) of which most of the European populations live in the ...
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