The internal kick-off meeting of the Danube WILDisland Ramsar Regional Initiative took place in the second biggest Ramsar site of Europe – the Danube Delta, Romania, on September 8th.
Representatives of a total of 17 institutions from 7 Danube countries – protected area managers, forest authorities and NGOs marked the start of the Initiative, discussing the first steps towards the formal establishment of the Initiative as the first river-based RRI in Europe. The proposal was developed within the Danube WILDisland Habitat Corridor project, supported by the LIFE funding instrument of the European Commission and was formally submitted by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and formally adopted by the Convention on Wetlands in June 2024.
The practical coordination of the Initiative was entrusted to the DANUBEPARKS Association, which agreed to establish a new WILDisland RRI office in one of its members in the Lower Danube, namely - Persina Nature Park, Bulgaria.
At the kick-off meeting, following a detailed presentation of the newly adopted Danube WILDisland Ramsar Regional Initiative, a hosting agreement was signed between Mr. Vlatko Rozac, President of DANUBEPARKS and Mrs. Stela Bozhinova, Director of the Persina Nature Park, Bulgaria. The DANUBEPARKS Association can now proceed to take the necessary legal steps for establishing and equipping the WILDisland Coordination Office to then run all actions and future projects of the Initiative.
The event took part on a ship floating through the magical Danube Delta – not only the second largest and the best preserved of Europe’s deltas, but also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage site - a fairly intact wild ecosystem, which supports a rich diversity of wetland habitats, numerous lakes, ponds and over 330 species of birds and 45 species of freshwater fish.
Next steps include the elaboration of a Long-term Strategic and Communication Plans, to define the lasting perspectives of the Initiative, identify priorities for the joint work, enhance existing synergies and set common goals of action, based on the local needs and particular requirements. The documents will combine the Resolutions and the Strategic Plan of the Convention of Wetlands, with other global agendas in biodiversity, climate, land and sustainable development, such as SDGs, the EU Water Framework Directive ICPDR Strategic Plan, etc.
These documents will be developed in close cooperation with all Member States of the Initiative, taking into consideration the specific local needs and using bottom-up approach, based on shared priorities, best-practices and synergies, so we have provided a number of trans-border meetings, workshops and joint events.
The new Danube WILDisland RRI will also be formally presented at the 15th Conference of the Party of the Convention on Wetlands in June 2025.
We also expect to start the first small-scale pilot projects together in 2025, in line with the individual needs stated by the RRI members: technical planning projects for follow-up direct wetland restoration measures; joint monitoring programmes for flagship species of Danube-wide interest; or common information and awareness campaigns, such as the Danube Day, Danube Volunteers Day or Wetlands Day.
We are convinced that this is just the start of a long-term platform for international cooperation, exchange of knowledge and experience in wetland preservation and support the local environmental administrations for the implementation of the Ramsar Convention.
This is a milestone for our joint efforts in conserving and restoration of the Danube near-natural WILDislands as the backbone of a unique Danube ecological corridor and indicator of intact river dynamics, preserved riparian ecosystem services and best practice for cross-sector and cross-border cooperation.
For more information: Elena Kmetova-Biro - WILDisland Project Coordinator: e.kmetova@donauauen.at