Over millennia the Danube river has formed an immense floodplain and delta which, until recent decades, was subject to a natural cycle of seasonal spring flooding, with a rich diversity of lakes, marshes, islands, reed beds and alluvial forest. The international importance of the Danube Delta is illustrated by the three Ramsar sites (Kartal, Kugurlui and Sasyk lakes) present in the Ukrainian part of the delta alone. Between the 1950s and the mid-1980s, huge areas of the floodplain in the territory of the former USSR were enclosed by dikes and equipped with irrigation and drainage systems for industrial farming.
An economy in transition... As a result of the harsh economic conditions now facing Ukraine, there has been a progressive decline of intensive agriculture. In many areas it is simply no longer viable for farms to pay for the electricity which runs the irrigation and drainage pumps. Large areas of farmland and fishponds have fallen into disuse and life is a daily struggle for people living in the towns and villages of the region.
...also provides opportunities Partners for Wetlands is working to promote and implement innovative solutions on wetland restoration, tourism development and sustainable agriculture, based on opportunities provided after the collapse of the Soviet system. These solutions are developed with a wide range of partners, including the local and regional government, investors from the emerging private sector, research institutes and international bodies such as the EU's Tacis programme and the UK Know How Fund. Another goal is to ensure that policies are put in place at regional and local level to favour the long-term conservation and wise use of wetlands in Odessa Oblast. In this way, the sustainable development of Ukraine's wetlands can serve as a model applicable in the wider region.
The future of the Danube Delta
What can be achieved is a dynamic Danube Delta, providing a secure supply of clean water and productive breeding grounds for fish and birds, which in turn form the basis for sustainable fisheries, tourism and recreation. Surrounding these wetlands is a broad belt of organic farming and related activities, providing employment and a range of high quality products to the local population and customers abroad. A free trade zone where high environmental quality and good recreational opportunities next to a friendly people, provide attractive conditions for high-tech, high-added value companies to invest. A wetland economy for the 21st century, supporting life in all its diversity.
As a result of the harsh economic conditions now facing Ukraine, there has been a progressive decline of intensive agriculture. In many areas it is simply no longer viable for farms to pay for the electricity which runs the irrigation and drainage pumps. Large areas of farmland and fishponds have fallen into disuse and life is a daily struggle for people living in the towns and villages of the region.
Partners for Wetlands is working to promote and implement innovative solutions on wetland restoration, tourism development and sustainable agriculture, based on opportunities provided after the collapse of the Soviet system. These solutions are developed with a wide range of partners, including the local and regional government, investors from the emerging private sector, research institutes and international bodies such as the EU's Tacis programme and the UK Know How Fund. Another goal is to ensure that policies are put in place at regional and local level to favour the long-term conservation and wise use of wetlands in Odessa Oblast. In this way, the sustainable development of Ukraine's wetlands can serve as a model applicable in the wider region.