WRPRP

he Bulgarian Wetlands Restoration and Pollution Reduction Project  is the first of its kind under the umbrella of the GEF Black Sea/Danube Strategic Partnership –Nutrient Reduction Investment Fund, a program which intends to help riparian countries undertake investments to control or mitigate nutrient inflow to the Black Sea. The Wetlands Restoration and Pollution Reduction Project is consisted with the Strategic Action Plan for the protection and rehabilitation of the Black Sea (BSSAP) and the Black Sea/Danube Strategic Partnership. The BSSAP, formulated with the assistance of GEF, had indentified nutrient discharge as the most serious problem facing the Black Sea. The Government of Bulgaria requested assistance from the GEF/World Bank for undertaking an innovate approach to wetland/floodplain restoration which linked land use change with sustainable use and economic development.

 

In October 2002 the Ministry of Environment and Water launched the implementation of activities under Wetlands Restoration and Pollution Reduction Project being a pilot project for Bulgaria and the Danube River downstream. The project completion date is December 15, 2008.

 

The project is funded by a Global Environment Facility Trust Fund Grant through the World Bank amounting to USD 7.5 million, Bulgaria government and local municipalities co-financing of USD 3.05 million and other donors (The European Union PHARE Program and the Austrian Government) at the amount of USD 2.73 million.

 

The Global environmental objective of the project is to create a model for reducing trans-boundary nutrient loads in the Danube and Black Sea basins and to preserve biodiversity in the protected sites through:

•  restoration of the wetlands management plans for protected sites and

    

The long term objective of the Project is the adoption of practices for sustainable management of the natural resources by the local communities and authorities on the territory of Persina Nature Park and Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site. The project demonstrates how the environmentally friendly activities for the development of an agricultural can improve the local economy and business.

 

Persina Nature Park (PNP) and Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site (KBPS) were selected as project sites due to the high value of their biodiversity, the wetland capacity to extract biogenic pollutants and their role for flood preservation. Beside both of the territories are part of the initiative “The Danube River Downstream – Green Corridor”, which started in June 2000, with the objective to structure a network of completely functioning wetlands along the Danube River in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine.

 

This project is implemented in the framework of the Strategic Partnership for Nutrient Reduction Strategy for the Danube and Black Sea Basins. The objective of the strategy partnership is to assist the countries to invest in ensuring control or reduction of nutrient flux into the Black Sea water. The partnership was established in spring of 2000 by the Danube River and the Black Sea bordering countries, GEF and its executive agencies (the World Bank, UNDP and UN Environment Protection Program). It was preceded by financing and implementation of studies and transboundary diagnostic analyses which proved that the environmental damage to the Black Sea is due predominantly to the high content of nutrient / biotic element and nitrogen and phosphorus in the water coming from Danube River. This is caused mainly by discharge of non-treated waste water, bad management of agriculture and livestock breeding, drying of wetlands.

 

The project assisted Bulgaria in meeting its international communities in relation to the Strategic Partnership for reduction of nutrient pollution in the Danube and Black Sea basins and the relevant requirements of the Convention for Protection of the Danube, the Convention for Protection the Black Sea etc.

 

All these activities are carried out in close cooperation with the local communities (Nikopol, Belene, Svishtov, Tutrakan, Slivo Pole), the Belene Island prison administration, RIEWs (Pleven, Veliko Tatnovo, Ruse), the Executive Environmental Agency, state forestry boards in Nikopol, Svishtov, Tutrakan and Ruse, scientific and academic institution, non-governmental organization etc.

 

Persina Nature Park is designated on December 4, 2000 with a territory of 22 000 hectares and includes territories within the settlements of Nikopol, Dragash Voivoda, Belene, Svishtov and Oresh; and Bulgarian island in this part of the Danube River. The park is managed by the Park Directorate established on April 1, 2001. It is currently directly subordinated to the State Forestry Agency under the Council of Ministry.

 

The Belene Island Group known as Belene Danube Archipelago comprises 19 islands wish a total area of 6898 hectares. It is registered is the list of the Wetlands of International importance, designated by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The convention was signed in the town of Ramsar (Iran) with the objective to promote the protection and sustainable use of wetlands. The Persina Island – largest in Bulgaria and the fourth largest island on the Danube in Europe is located here giving the name of the nature park. Its length is 15 km and its width reaches up to 6 km. The reserves “Kitka” and “Milka”, which consist of isles with the same names, are also situated in Belene Danube Archipelago; they were designated as reserve to preserve the sea-eagle’s habitat.

 

The value of the park nature is determined by the great variety of birds, which nest, spend the winter or migrate here; some of them are species threatened by extinction - the sea eagle, great grey shrike, corn crake, ferruginous duck, etc. The territory of the park is also a habitat for many mammals, amphibians and of course a lot of fish species. There are rare plant species, included in the Red Data Book. The ecological network NATURA 2000 has registered the following “elements” in the species list under the EU Bird Directive: Belene Island Group, Lakat Island, Svishtov-Belene lowland and Nikopol plateau; while Nikopol plateau and Persina are enlisted under the EU Habitat Directive.

 

Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Site is designated on July 4, 2001 and covers a territory of about 6000 hectares within the villages of Riahovo, Goliomo Vranovo, Babovo and Brushlen in Slivo Pole Municipality as well as Tsar Samuil, Nova Cherna, Staro Selo and the town of Tutrakan in Tutrakan Municipality. It is managed by the Kalimok/Brushlen Association established for the purpose and involving all interested parties – the two municipalities, non-governmental organizations and state authorities.

 

The Kalimok marshes near the town of Tutrakan are known for their rich biodiversity and are identified by the Bird Life International Association as an Important Bird Area (IBA). The territory is of international importance for water-birds / waterfowl, 30 species out of which are enlisted in the Red Data Book. The marshes serve as resting for the Dalmatian pelican, and in winter for pygmy cormorant and red-breasted goose. Other bird species, which live on that territory, are little egret, night heron and the sea eagle. The protected area comprises of various landscapes, including agricultural land, and allows for great variety of land-use. The ecological network NATURA 2000 has registered Kalimok complex as an “element” in the specific list under the EU Bird Directive; while Kalimok and Brushlen are enlisted under the EU Habitat Directive.

The most important and innovate activity of the project is the physical restoration of the wetlands in the two protected areas. In the course of the implementation of this component activities the project has restored 4035 ha of former wetlands on two specific sites – Belene island (2280 ha) within the Persina Nature Park and Kalimok/Brushlen (1755 ha) within the Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site – in order to demonstrate the use of riparian as nutrient traps.

 

Similar activities have been implemented along the whole Danube stream. The Austrian Hungarian projects are already completed while currently parallel project are running in Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Moldova.

 

In order to achieve efficient restoration of the wetlands it is necessary to enable the Danube River water flow into the previous marsh territories. To provide for this some engineering facilities are built including sluices, channels, dykes to protect the adjacent land, as well as access roads. Thus an option for controlled flooding, optimized trapping of nutrient elements, and restoration of biodiversity and fish populations, living in these water basins will be ensured. All that will allow for sustainability of the wetlands ecosystems.

 

 

The construction works for building the sluices, channels, inner protective dike, parallel drainage channel, pump station and roads for access to Belene Island took about a year and a half. The works are fully completed and the first flooding was successfully implemented in April 2008. The results from the flooding are very satisfactory and give us confidence that the restoration objectives are feasible. Certainly, for the complete restoration of the eco-system a longer period of time is necessary. The other Danube countries experience that it would take about ten years.

 

The construction works for the restoration facilities in Kalimok marshes started a year ago and are also completed.

 

In Persina Nature Park the marshes in the eastern part of Belene are restored and in Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site – only the territory of the previous marsh Kalimok, where the land is state owned. No private owned territories on the two sites were flooded. Nevertheless in order to support the transition to new agricultural practices, providing sustainable economic development in the region a special farmer transition fund was established.

 

 The environmental effect on the wetlands restoration would be observe through monitoring on water, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and vegetation. The baseline data on the biodiversity is collected within the project framework. This data will be compared with the data collected after a succession of flooding of the restored territories. This would allow for controlling the water quality and the regime for maintaining the wetlands in future.

 

 

The project funded by the World Bank supported the implementation of priority management

For the purpose of the wetlands restoration and their future management baseline information on the biodiversity status before the construction and operation of the facilities is collected. This is essential since the whole project aims at providing a model for wetlands restoration and the data biodiversity status before and after applying the technical measures should be assessed.

 

In the period 2001 – 2008 a database of animals, vegetation and their habitats was created for the two territories. The baseline surveys on habitats and small mammals on the two sites were conducted by experts hired under the project. This information is regularly updated based on the monitoring carried out by the experts in the two protected sites administration. They are applying approved methods as well as designing new techniques for the species for which such are not available.

 

For the period 2004 – 2007 on the Belene Island four fish species were registered. Meanwhile in the Danube River around the island 31 fish species were monitored which could potentially enter the wetland at sluices opening. In July 2008 after the first flooding of Belene Island, the entering of 10 fish species was registered. Part of them bred successfully and floated back into the Danube. 84 bird species were monitored on the island in the period May 2004 when the baseline monitoring financed under the project started to June 2008 after the first flooding. Certain increase in the bird number and species is observed after the first flooding ( the mallard from 16 to 400; the Whiskered Tern – from 60 to 150; the pochard – from 13 to 138; the mute swan – from 1 to 5; mistle thrush from 30 to 150). In 2008 new bird species were monitored (northern pintail – 1; purple heron – 2; long-legged buzzard – 1; black kite – 1; glossy ibis - 9). Besides 12 large mammals (deer, martens, foxes, jackals, wild rabbits, hamsters, wild cats, badgers, moles, hedgehogs, wild-boars and weasels) and 7 small mammals species were monitored. The experts registered 4 reptile species (grass snake, dice snake, meadow lizard and pond turtle) and 8 amphibian species (fire-bellied toad, Danube newt, smooth newt, common toad, spadefoot toad, etc.)  Eight plant species of conservation importance were classified on the island (floating watermoss, mouse garlic, yellow floating heart, shining spurge, fen ragwort, spring snowflake, hairlike pond weed and Debrecen horse-radish) while in Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site (KBPS) they are 6. The experts observed 31 species of dragonflies and 32 species of butterflies in KBPS. In the channels of the former marsh they had found 37 fish species. The expert registered 11 amphibian species and 7 reptile species. By 2005, 236 bird species were monitored. The average annual number of birds is about 100-120 of nesting and 70-90 of spending winter on the protected site territory. In 2004, 8 small mammal and 3 other mammal species of conservative importance were registered such as otter, mole rat and hamster.

 

A baseline monitoring on surface and ground water quality was carried out on the project site subject to restoration.

 

The two administrations are fully technically and methodologically equipped for the implementation of the studies planned on their monitoring programs. It is necessary to ensure the financial and expert inputs for the carrying out of the monitoring to allow for optimization of the regime of the restored wetlands.

 

 

In 2004 a repair and full refurbishment of the KBPS administration office in Tutrakan was carried out. The office is in the municipality premises.

 

The Persina Nature Park Administration moved in their new office in 2006. The Visitors Center and administration building is constructed on the ricer bank and surrounded by part of the Danube town park. The new building and the surroundings are visited every day by Belene inhabitants.

 

 

 

  

The protected sites were supplied with specialized equipment for site investigation – two four-wheel drive

vehicles, two boats, photo cameras, video cameras, binoculars, optic tubes.

 

 

Capacity building of the PS administrations as well as the coordinating units of Ministry of Environment and Water and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (currently Ministry of Agriculture and Food) is one of the main goals of the project. During the study tours the project partners on the central and local level established various contacts with experts working on wetlands restoration and management, exchanged experience with partner projects and were convinced of the benefits from the wetlands restoration and the efforts for pollution reduction of the Danube. As a result from the last study tour to the Danube National Park organized under the project, the Persina Nature Park Directorate and Kalimok/Brushlen Protected Site administration joined the international protected sites network in the Danube River Basin. The members of the network apply with a project for funding under EU INTERREG Program.

One of the approaches for active public information and direct participation of all stakeholders and their involvement as project’s real partners is the Small Grants Program. The Objective of the program is to involve local people and communities in the management of the protected areas through building up the capacity of the municipalities, business, NGOs, education centers and others for writing and managing the projects in the field of biodiversity conservation and public information and education on nature protection.

 

Most of the projects were committed to raising public awareness in the field of biodiversity conservation on both territories. The projects were implemented by 23 NGOs, 65 leading experts, about 5500 students and 250 kids from kindergartens.
 

The program’s objective is to assist local farmers in transition to environmental friendly agricultural practices that would allow them to achieve sustainable agricultural development on the territory of PNP and KBPS. In the course of the program implementation 7 demonstrational projects were successfully completed at the total amounts of USD 107 340. The program was launched in March 2005 and completed in 2007.

 

The benefits form project implementation could not be argued both at global and local level.

 

At global level the benefits are predominantly in the sphere of biodiversity enrichment and nutrient reduction in the Danube River.

 

The local level benefits are ecological and socio-ecological. The nutrient loads are descried, the diversity of species of animals and plants increases, as well as the number of species of conservation importance. The project laid down the basis for the application of environmentally friendly agricultural practices and sustainable use of natural resources.

 

One of the indirect but especially valuable project benefits for the local stakeholders to apply and implement projects related to environmental protection, education, agriculture and stock-breeding. At the very start of the Small Grant Program and Farmer Transition Support Fund a few organizations had had any experience in project implementation. In the last year there hardly is a local organization operating in the field of environment and education which has not implemented or is not currently implementing a project funded by various donors concerning environment.

 

The institutional capacity on national and local level has increased as a result of the project’s training programs. “One of the most valuable parts of the project is that we have brought local people and decision makers together to gain skills and make international contacts,” says Mrs. Anna Georgieva, the World Bank Project Team Leader.

 

Florian Fihtl, the World Bank Country Director for Bulgaria is positive that “the restored wetlands provide a chance for the future tourism development in the region, for new employment opportunities as well as for protection of the Danube River basin from nutrient pollution.”