Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Birdwatching in the Danube Delta
The Danube Delta provides a major transit hub for birds migrating from as far off as the
Russian Arctic to the Nile Delta. Here birdwatchers can hire boats or take tours or ferries
on one of three channels through Romania's 3446-sq-km wetland. Almost the entire
world's population of red-breasted geese (up to 70,000) winter here, as does 60% of the
world's small pygmy cormorant population. In the summer white pelicans along with
birds from up to 300 other species can also be seen.
Though you are guaranteed to see some
birds on any of the boat excursions you take,
Tulcea's Ibis Tours (
Click here
)
can organise
specialised tours guided by ornithologists.
Otherwise, the Information & Ecological Edu-
cation Centre (
www.ddbra.ro
)
can suggest oth-
er ways to spot the flying beauties.
There are also birdwatching excursions in Transylvania's mountains. Roving România (
Click here
)
in Braşov runs well-regarded bird trips.
Migration season in spring runs from March to May, in autumn August to October. It's
particularly good in mid-April and October.
The Romanian government has issued an ambitious
plan to cut energy use by at least 30% by 2015,
partly by introducing renewable energy sources.
The Environment
Two key EU criticisms of Romania included waste management and water pollution. For
NGOs like ProNatura and the Transylvania Ecological Club (
Click here
)
in Cluj-Napoca,
educating an apathetic public about how to diminish the impact of tourism on the environ-
ment is a main priority.
In spring 2006, the Danube River rose to its highest level in over a century. Various en-
gineering projects have resulted in up to 20,000 sq km of floodplains being cut off from
the river, which has endangered many species in this area. Though the pollution bellowing
out of Romania's factories has been halved, air pollution still exceeds acceptable levels in
some areas, and the Danube Delta has a long way to go before it can be pronounced a
healthy environment. In 2006 tension built up over the mining of Roşia Montană and, in
the same year, Romania took out a €55 million loan to modernise its water supply to meet
EU standards; the project is still in progress.
