What are the natural, social and economic values of the Ukrainian Delta?
The Ukrainian part of the Danube D elta is a very dynamic ecosystem comprising 73200 hectares (the Romanian part is 344600 ha, together 417800 ha) of extended reed beds, small lakes of various sizes and natural river levees of gallery-like softwood forests. On the sandy dunes a complex mosaic of hardwood floodplains forests and dry steppe vegetations alternates. The entire Danube Delta has been selected by WWF as one of the world’s 200 most important regions for biodiversity conservation. It is the second largest wetland in Europe and the largest reedbed in the world. It is a critical to a number of globally threatened species. It is home to about 33 0 bird species, 70% of the world’s white pelican population ( and 6 0% of the world’s pygmy cormorants. The Delta is home to a remarkable population of glossy ibis, spoonbill, different species of egrets and herons. Most of the European freshwater fish species (around 70 species) exist in the Delta. Because of its remarkable biodiversity,
