Trans-boundary River and Wetland Management of the Lower Danube.

In Northern Bulgaria alongside the river valley of the Danube lies the Persina, one of the few remaining natural/semi-natural ecosystems along the Danube river. The Persina is a protected nature park composed of 13 different types of natural habitat that is rich in biodiversity including 1100 animal species and over 743 higher plant species. It is contains multiple socioeconomic aspects with agriculture, fisheries and wicker weaving still providing an income for many of the nearly 20, 000 residents of Persina. Yet currently, the Persina is under threat from a variety of factors that jeopardise its future, the impacts of which are yet to be fully understood.

Aims

Despite it’s importance their remains low recognition among stakeholders on a local and national level of the societal, economic and environmental values of wetlands, and it is thus the aims of our Persina exemplar to identify the social and economic values of wetlands and communicate it with local stakeholders. Furthermore we wish to establish what - if any- relationship there is between restored and sustainably managed wetlands and socio-economic welfare. The results of the analyses will be of relevance to the whole Danube River Basin that covers almost 11% of the European continent and gives a home to more than 80 million people.