Expected results

  • Long term action plan, for stopping the loss of biodiversity within the Iron Gates wetlands, which will include a weed harvesting strategy and maintaining a minimum water depth strategy.
  • An up to date GIS database in compliance with EU INSPIRE Directive that provide support to environmental policies
  • Purchase floating equipment for cutting the excessive macrophytes from the wetlands, especially invasive macrophytes.
  • Restoring the 91E0* priority habitats and providing undisturbed habitats for the pygmy cormorant population by creating 100 resting platforms in shallow waters along the Danube, mounting 200 pygmy cormorant decoys on natural and artificial resting platforms, planting 55 ha with Salix alba, eradication of invasive trees (Robinia pseudoaccacia, Rhus hirta  and Alianthus altissima) from 55 ha, and eradication of invasive American mink.
  • The conservation measures, we propose for increasing the local populations of the target species will lead to the creation of favourable habitats during the wintering and nesting seasons. We aim to create favourable winter conditions for ~700 pairs of pygmy cormorant and nesting conditions for ~800 pairs of Ferruginous Duck. For the pygmy cormorant, it will represent a 15% population increase compared with the maximum population number of the last three years, and for the ferruginous duck a 10% increase
  • Sixty ha wetlands cleaned of aquatic invasive species and excessive species, and running two demonstrative weed harvesting field trips with Romanian SPAs managers and watershed management authorities.
  • A demonstrative functional early detection system for aquatic invasions in the ROSPA00026.
  • An extensive public awareness campaign for project dissemination, a campaign for raising the public awareness on the birds and wetlands importance for tourists, stakeholders, local authorities, local citizens and children: printed materials, website, DVD, meetings and workshops.
  • The enforcement of a complex monitoring system (for wetlands habitats and species) for assessing the success of the actions from the projects and formulating small scale corrective actions.