Universitatea De Ştiinţe Agronomice Şi Medicină Veterinară Bucureşti

Facultatea de Management, Inginerie Economică în Agricultură și Dezvoltare Rurală

Specializare: Inginerie şi Management în Alimentaţie Publică şi Agroturism

DANUBE DELTADANUBE DELTA

Dăogaru Mădălina ŞtefaniaDogaru Maria Magdalena

Enuş Daniela ViorelaSuhăianu Andreea Mădălina

Grupa 8212

DANUBE DELTA

The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after Volga Delta, and is

the best preserved on the continent.

 The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its

northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast).

The approximate surface is 4,152 km², 3,446 km² are in Romania. If we include the

lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km² with 865 km² water surface), located south to main delta,

the total area ofthe Danube Delta reaches 5,165 km².

The Razelm - Sinoe lagoon complex is geologically and ecologically related to the delta

proper and their combined territory is part of the World Heritage Sites.

Distributaries of the DanubeThe Danube branches into three main distributaries into the delta, Chilia, Sulina,

and Sfântul Gheorghe (Saint George).

The last two branches form the Tulcea channel, which continues as a single body for

several kilometers after the separation from the Chilia.

At the mouths of each channel gradual formation of new land takes place, as the delta

continues to expand.

ClimateThe climate of the Danube Delta is continental with strong influences from the vicinity

of the Black Sea and its prevalent amphibian environment. It is the driest and sunniest region

of Romania.

The mean annual temperature is 11°C (-1°C in January and 22°C in July), with mean

precipitation between 400and 300 mm/year, decreasing from west to east.

The evaporation is around 1000 mm/year, favorized and amplified by the strong and

frequent winds, resulting in long periods of drought in the summer.

The northwest winds cause frequent storms in spring and autumn. In the interior of the

delta the continental character of the climate is very pronounced.

Main ecosystemsThe Danube Delta falls within Pannonian steppe ecosystem of eastern Europe, with

Mediterranean influences.

As a young region in full process of consolidation, the Danube Delta represents a very

favourable place for the development of highly diverse flora and fauna, unique in Europe,

with numerous rare species. It hosts 23 natural ecosystems, but due to the extent of wetlands

the aquatic environment is prevalent; the terrestrial environment is also present on the higher

grounds of the continental levees, where xerophile ecosystems have developed.

Between the aquatic and terrestrial environments, is interposed a swampy, easily

flooded strip of original flora and fauna, with means of adaptation for water or land,

depending on the season or the hydrological regime. At the contact between freshwater and

sea water, some special physical, chemical and biological processes take place, which have

led biologists to consider this area as a very different ecosystem called beforedelta.

Musura Gulf, north of Sulina, and Saint George Gulf are considered the most

representative for this type of ecosystem.

Situated on major migratory routes, and providing adequate conditions for nesting and

hatching, the Danube Delta is a magnet for birds from six major eco-regions of the world,

including the Mongolian, Arctic and Siberian.

There are over 320 species of birds found in the delta during summer, of which 166 are

hatching species and 159 are migratory. Over one million individuals (swans, wild ducks,

bald coots, etc.) winter here.

HistoryRecorded history first noted the Delta under Dacian control before being conquered by

the Romans. After invasion by the Goths the region changed hands many times.

During the 15th century, the Danube Delta became part of the Ottoman Empire. In

1812, following the Russo-Turkish War the borders of Ottoman and Russian Empires were set

by Kilia and Old Stambul Channels of Danube, and in 1829 by St George Channel.

The Treaty of Paris of 1856, which ended the Crimean War, assigned the Danube Delta to

the Ottoman Empire and established an international commission which made a series of

works to help navigation. In 1878, following the defeat of Ottoman Empire by Russia and

Romania, the border between those two was set by the Kilia and Old Stambul Channels.

In 1991, the Romanian part of the Danube Delta became part of the UNESCO list

of World Heritage Sites. Around 2,733 km² of the delta are strictly protected areas.

In 1998, under UNESCO Programme on Man and the Biosphere, the 6264.03 km² of

Danube Delta were established as Biosphere Reserve shared by Romania and Ukraine.

Historically, in Romania, part of Danube Delta was marked as a reserve back in 1938.

In Ukraine, the Danube branch of Black Sea State Reserve was established in 1973. In

1981 it was reorganized into Natural Reserve "Danube Fluxes", and in 1998 it was extended

into Danube Biosphere Reserve.

Environment and issuesLarge-scale works began in the Danube Delta as early as the second half of the 19th

century. First corrections of the Sulina arm began in 1862, and they continued throughout the

20th century. As a result, the length of the Sulina arm was reduced from 92 to 64 km, and its

flow more than doubled, thus making it suitable for large-vessel navigation. Correcting the six

large meanders on its course thereby reduced the length of the Sfântu Gheorghe from 108 km

to 108, and its flow also increased somewhat. Both these increases were made to the detriment

of the Chilia arm, which as of present remains the most unspoiled arm of the main three.

These corrections, as well as the digging of various secondary channels throughout the body

of the delta, have had a serious impact on the ecosystem. Natural environments have been

altered, the breeding pattern of fish has been disrupted, and the flows in the main arms have

increased, with serious consequences regarding the discharge of the alluvia and the erosion of

the banks.

Reed was intensively harvested during the Communist era. The regime had plans of

transforming the delta into a large agro-industrial zone. Although the first modern agricultural

exploitation dates from 1939 (Ostrovul Tãtaru), only after 1960 were large areas drained and

converted, to the detriment of wetlands. As of 1991 agricultural land in the delta surpassed

100,000 hectares, and more than a third of its surface has been affected by crop cultivation,

forest plantation, or pisciculture arrangements. As a result of these changes, as well as the

increasing pollution and eutrophication of the Danube waters, and decades of exploitation and

poor regulations of fishing, the fish population has been visibly reduced.

In 2004, Ukraine inaugurated work on the Bistroe Channel that would provide an

additional navigable link from the Black Sea to the populous Ukrainian section of the Danube

Delta. However, because of the negative impact which this new channel may have upon the

fragile ecosystem of the Delta, the European Union advised Ukraine to shut down the works.

Romanian officials threatened to sue Ukraine at the International Court of Justice. Under the

presidency of Kuchma, Ukraine had responded that Romania is just afraid of the competition

that the new channel will bring, and continued working on the channel. Under the presidency

of Yuschenko, who visited Romania in 2005, both sides agree that professionals should

decide the fate of the channel. In the long-run, Ukraine plans to build a navigation channel, if

not through Bistroe Channel then through another channel.