I look down and meet a pair of hard-boiled white eyes staring back at me from Virginia’s freshly cooked zander fish soup. It is lunchtime with Cristian and Florin under a pergola dressed in grapevines. Finally I am here, in the village Crisan after flights, road trips, hotel nights and an extensive riverboat journey.
Four Romanian NGO’s raised their voice for the sustainable development of the Danube Delta, one of our rewilding areas. The most important of demands of the four organisations are also included in the vision for the Danube Delta rewilding initiative.
Rewilding Europe efforts to bring back wildlife in the Romanian Danube Delta are featured in the article “Nature gets its players back” in the Dutch Trouw daily (June 18).
A contest for young professionals in The Netherlands on ideas to double nature in the country, has delivered two winners. An essay of Iris de Boer, together with a short film from Stefan Sand, Merijn Biemans and Christoph Janzing to “rewild” Dutch cities by adopting flagship species and support their comeback through an online platform, were the price-winners.
A new documentary about Danube Delta will launch tomorrow, 30 January.
The Scientific Council of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority has confirmed the findings of a recent study that suggests potential resizing of the strictly protected areas in the Danube Delta. The study was commissioned by Danube Parks with the subsequent amendment of existing legislation to establish new borders of some protected areas expected in the short term.
Humans have influenced beaver’s ecological history for centuries. Empires were built on beaver fur trade. Different trends in fashion almost got the species extinct at one time, and unconsciously saved it later when preference moved from fur to silk. More recently, the green revolution consciously safeguarded the species, by promulgating protection laws.
The autumn in Romania started with nice weather and a good opportunity for getting in touch with the Danube Delta local community. In September, WWF team that is implementing Rewilding Europe initiative in Romania, took part in Rowmania Rowing Boats Festival in Tulcea.
Rewilding Europe aims to rewild at least one million hectares of Europe by 2020, consisting of ten areas, each at least 100,000 ha, which together reflect a wide selection of European regions.
Looking back at a fantastic week in the ”Pantanal of Europe”, where I did a photo mission for Rewilding Europe, all well organised by Rewilding Europe’s man on the ground – Cristian Mititelu. Boat trips, canoe trips, horse cart rides, hikes and ultra-light flights through or over the different habitats of this huge and to a great part still pretty wild area. And it is getting wilder…