Ramsar site management plans -- Bulgaria, Srebarna (file 5)
BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES CENTRAL LABORATORY OF GENERAL ECOLOGY
MANAGEMENT PLAN OF THE SREBARNA BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Part 2: EVALUATION AND OBJECTIVES
2.1. Evaluation
2.1.1. Position in the ecological unit
Srebarna is a part of an ecological complex comprising (App.1, Map 1):
Of all sites listed above only Srebarna Lake and Garvan Marsh have got some legal protection. The last two groups of wetlands are on Romanian territory.
2.1.2. Biological diversity
Srebarna BR possesses considerable diversity of species, communities and ecosystems.
According to Michev et al. (1998) the recorded species diversity of Srebarna encompasses 1116 genera with 2748 taxa (species, subspecies, varieties and forms). They belong to 47 classes, 24 divisions and phyla:
Diversity of communities within the reserve and in its vicinities has been determined by the CORINE BIOTOPE PROJECT. According to it 13 types of habitats have been described for Srebarna. The reserve proper is a part of nearly 150 sites of substantial importance for preserving Bulgarias biodiversity.
The ecosystem diversity has been determined by the types of wetlands within the reserve proper and in its buffer zone as per the Ramsar Convention classification:
Inland Wetlands;
M - Permanent rivers (an arm of the Danube riverbed between the right-hand bank and the island of Devnya).
O - Permanent freshwater lakes (Srebarna lakes mirror);
R - Seasonal marshes/pools (excavation pits between the riverside protection dike Vetren to Silistra and the Danube left-hand bank).
Xf - Freshwater tree dominated wetlands; seasonally flooded forests (all the area of the island of Devnya and part of the riverside between the protection dike Vetren Silistra as well as the Danube right-hand bank);
Zk - Subterranean karst and cave hydrological systems (the spring "Kanarichkata" in the south outskirts of the lake).
The diversity of biogeographical provinces (after Udvardy, 1975) has been determined on the basis of the presence of three biogeographical provinces, namely the Middle European Forests, the Pontic Steppes and the Balkan Highlands.
2.1.3. Naturalness
Srebarna is distinguished as having good naturalness which could have been even greater but for the forest plantations of Black Pine (Pinus nigra), Black Locust (Robinia pseudacacia), Hybrid Poplar and the big dike in the northern part of the reserve. The two reed-beds in the north and south end of the lake are one of the largest reed-beds in Bulgaria.
2.1.4. Rarity
Srebarna has some characteristics that substantially increase the values of that criterion:
2.1.5. Fragility
Srebarna is relatively very fragile ecosystem because of the following reasons:
2.1.6. Typicalness
With its typical plant and animal inhabitants Srebarna is a typical inland wetland of the Lower Danube. Some species of birds like the Bee-eater, the Kingfisher, the Roller, the Hoopoe are typical for the loess walls and banks found in Dobrudzha. The Danube island of Devnya is covered with vegetation typical for the Lower Danube, as are its mud-banks and sand bars.
2.1.7. Potential for improvement
Thanks to the recent changes in nature conservation legislation (introduction of the category "maintained reserve") the following options are possible:
2.1.8. Aesthetic, cultural and religious value
Srebarna reserve has a great esthetic value as an exotic, not yet fully explored and rather unusual environment. The floating reed-beds (reed islands), the channels crossing the reed-beds in every direction, the mat of water lilies forming an island as well as the big concentrations of rare and threatened with extinction aquatic birds are scarcely known to the broad public and justly rouse a great interest among people from all walks of life.
Abundance of natural resources like fish, ducks, geese, reed, reedmace, etc. have attracted people in the region since very ancient times. At the countryside place called "Opashkata" remains of an ancient settlement were discovered.
Close to the reserve is the village of Tataritsa, at present a neighbourhood of the village of Aidemir. Its inhabitants are Russians, also called "Lipovanians" or Old-believers. They have settled there some 200 years ago. Until rather recently Lipovanians did not mix with local Bulgarians and that was the reason they have preserved rather well a number of peculiarities in their dress, way of living, custom, working habits, etc. Men were professional fishermen while women mainly worked on vineyards. The way of living and tradition of the Lipovanians are of certain interest for the cognitive tourism even today.
The inhabitants of the three villages around the reserve belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church. There are well-preserved churches in all three of them. A negligible part of the people from the neighbouring villages have joined the Adventists's Church.
Ethnographically the villages around the reserve have preserved to a large degree their traditional dress, custom and holidays. Of greater interest for the cognitive tourism are the Folk Holiday of Koukers, the St. Lazar Day's dances, etc.
2.1.9. Social and economic value
The basic means of living for the people inhabiting the villages around the reserve is farming (a total of about 10 000 ha of arable land), cattle and sheep breeding (60 cows, 1500 sheep and 550 goats graze on grasslands surrounding the reserve), fishing in the Danube, production of bee-honey (there are 5 apiaries having a total of 350 bee-hives). At the site "Kamaka" there is a pheasant-breeding farm, property of the Union of Fishermen and Hunters in Bulgaria. For the last several years the annual output of this farm has been about 150 to 200 (at most) young pheasants. At about 2 km west of Srebarna there is a big pig-fattening farm with a capacity for 20 000 pigs. It uses huge amounts of water from the pumping station of Srebarna and pollutes heavily the artificial pond not far from the village.
There is some industry only in the village of Aidemir but it does not affect the reserve. Recently, however, there is evidence of air pollution of the reserve. The source of this pollution is the emissions from the steelworks at the town of Calarash, across the river in Romania.
One of the gravest problems for the inhabitants of the villages around the reserve is the unemployment. For instance only in the village of Aidemir over 180 families rely on social aid programmes for their existence. People fear that unemployment may well exceed 20% of all the able-bodied populace of the region. Increased unemployment helps increase human pressure on natural resources mainly through illegal fishing in the lake and hunting in and around the reserve on Red deer, Roe deer, Wild Boars, Hares, etc.
The three villages have a lot in common but have also some distinctions both in their social status and economies.
The tourism at present is rather poorly developed. However, in spite of the lack of the most trivial facilities Srebarna is visited annually by about 15 000 people. Thirty five percent of them are secondary and high school students, arriving here on organised tours from their home schools at the beginning and the end of each school year. Fifty percent of all tourists are foreigners and the greater part of those is on a summer vacation at the Black Sea resorts. Srebarna is the last stop in their one-day excursion to the Lower Danube riverside.
About 50 people from the villages of Srebarna and Vetren regularly go out for hunting. In winter there are visitors from other villages and towns who come here to shoot Geese that use the reserve as a roosting grounds.
Fishing for sport is a free-time occupation for many inhabitants of the villages around the reserve. One of the most frequented fishing grounds is the Danube bank, a part of which is within the reserve boundaries.
2.1.10. Education and Public Awareness
The Natural History Museum is a merit for the Reserve to have it there. However, in order to better fulfill its purpose it should be transformed into Information & Visitors' Center.
Although many activities have been realized in this field (see 1.27), some obstacles and limiting factors could be summarized as follows:
Projects and activities for improving conservation education and building up conservation awareness are laid down in part 3.
The assessment of public awareness regarding Srebarna problems is good. Many information materials were published in the press. TV and radio also broadcast some pieces of reporting, but more various kinds of information releases is needed.
2.1.11. Recreation
At present there are two recreational sites in the Srebarna reserve vicinities:
During the summer season the reserve attracts several categories of tourists:
2.1.12. Research/study
As mentioned in Section 1.25 the Reserve offers great opportunities for research activities, due to the great diversity of species, ecosystems and biogeographical provinces. Several research programmes are being currently executed. By improving the experimental facilities and research equipment of the Reserve Ecological Research Station will further enhance these opportunities. The Reserve can also serve as an International Experimental Station for studying a typical Lower Danube wetland subject to considerable human pressure.
There was always a great interest in the research work done in Srebarna. The constant updating of the database, analyses, monitoring of threatened species and habitats should become a standing research objective to have the support and to be carried out with the active assistance of the Reserve Administration and other institutions in charge of the execution of the Management Plan.
One of the Reserve Administration important tasks is to build up a unified system for collecting and storing of data. To this end the MedWet programme software may be used.
As one may see, the scientific researches in Srebarna BR are well developed. In this respect Srebarna ranks one of the first places among other protected sites in Bulgaria.
2.2. Ideal (long-term) management objectives
The ideal objectives do express the striving to restore in full the Reserve natural state, provided there are no legal, political, financial and natural obstacles to do so. The main ideal (long-term) objective of the present Management Plan is to transform the Reserve in a substantially larger, on both sides of the state border, ecological complex comprising more and better preserved ecosystems and biodiversity. Such a complex will better meet the requirements for sustainable ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, adequately preserve the globally threatened species on their breeding and feeding sites, reducing the pollution via increased control over the catchment area of the Reserve, as well as for a wise use of its natural resources. This main objective can be achieved with the help of:
Other ideal management objectives are:
2.3. Factors influencing achievement of ideal (long-term) management objectives (constraints and modifiers):
2.3.1. Internal natural factors
Accelerated processes of the natural succession, which opens the land predators and poachers an easy access to the reserve thus causing very serious disturbance to the bird colonies.
2.3.2. Internal human-induced factors
Fish poaching using commercial fishing gear on a significant scale.
2.3.3. External natural factors
2.3.4. External human-induced factors
2.3.5. Factors arising from legislation or tradition
2.3.6. Physical considerations
Not yet identified.
2.3.7. Available resources:
Funds available from the Ministry of Environment & Waters are rather limited and they cover only staff salaries and a minimum of administrative costs. Funds and donations were received from international organisations for building the channel connecting the lake and the Danube in 1994, for constructing the reserve administration building, for setting up of a monitoring system, for purchasing a new boat, etc.
2.3.8. Summary of factors influencing the achievement of long-term objectives
It is obvious that most of the negative factors described above are of irreversible action. It is not possible, for instance, to restore entirely the Danube former water conditions, thence the water conditions in the reserve Srebarna. Even if it were possible, the Danube riverbed erosion basis constantly lowers which makes entering the Danube water in the lake increasingly difficult in the course of time. On the other hand even until political changes in 1989 it was considered impossible to have the arable land between the river and the lake added to the reserve protected area. Dislocating the roadbed of the main road Rouse Silistra from the village of Aidemir, which it crosses, now will solve also the problem of a section of that road passing in an immediate vicinity to the reserve.
The main factor that would hinder the achievement of the long-term ideal objectives is the lack of funds to implement the required series of conservation measures in the reserve.
The second most important factor is the resistance, indifference or the lack of incentives on behalf of the local populace. It is a sad fact, that the major part of it still cannot see the greater opportunities for improving local peoples wellbeing offered by the development of tourism based on the uniqueness of the reserve.
2.4. Identification of operational objectives
The main strategies for achieving the realistic (operational) objectives and thence the Reserve Srebarna ecosystems sustainability are:
The main strategies to increase cognitive, rural and green tourist activities are:
The main strategies for improving the conservation education and awareness are:
For further
information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28,
CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail
ramsar@ramsar.org). Posted on this Web site, 11 May 2001, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.