Today, on the World Danube Day, we would like to share some good news: as a result of the work to reconnect the Danube with the lakes, large amounts of clean water are flowing into Lake Katlabuh for the first time in many years. The Rewilding Ukraine team have been working together with local partners to restore the connectivity of floodplains in the Danube Delta since 2019. By connecting Katlabuh Lake with the Danube River, our latest efforts are a step towards revitalising an entire chain of water bodies, with wide-ranging benefits for nature, local communities and society.

The Danube Delta is one of Rewilding Europe’s nine large rewilding areas. Rewilding Ukraine, being a non-governmental organisation and a proud partner of the Rewilding Europe network, is working to revitalise and rewild landscapes of the Danube Delta by encouraging wildlife comeback, reintroducing lost species and providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive. Integral to the success is the involvement of people, communities and businesses.

On World Environment Day, a milestone event took place in Ukraine giving hope for the preservation and further ecological restoration of the Tarutino Steppe, the second largest steppe in Europe after the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve. It is a home to a significant number of steppe animals and plants, many of which are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

20 fallow deer and 20 red deer were just released on Bilgorodskiy Island in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta by Rewilding Ukraine and the Danube Biosphere Reserve. The release was funded by a grant from Rewilding Europe’s European Wildlife Comeback Fund.

Today, rewilding is inspiring an ever-growing number of people to support and practice nature recovery. With the theme #RewildingHope, this year’s World Rewilding Day focuses on rewilding’s beneficial impact and uplifting vision. The Rewilding Ukraine team together with local partners has organized several events for World Rewilding Day 2023.

The Danube Delta is one of Europe’s largest and most important wetlands. Efforts by the Rewilding Ukraine team to restore natural water flow here are great news for Dalmatian pelicans and great news for local communities.

At the end of December, an ornithologist Maksym Yakovlev and a zoologist Oleksandr Gaydash traditionally went to the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta to count the Dalmatian pelicans. Due to the war, access to some areas was limited or even closed, but scientists managed to do the counts in many large water bodies of the delta.

The year 2022 is coming to an end in the Danube delta, shared by three countries… To put it mildly, it was a difficult year for the people and nature of Ukraine. Every corner of the country, every business or community was affected by the war.

A new UN report, set to be published today at COP 15, recognises the Danube Delta rewilding landscape as a European nature restoration showcase. The report aims to accelerate nature restoration by providing examples of inspirational nature restoration initiatives and the wide-ranging benefits they are delivering.

Today, global warming is increasingly affecting people and nature across the world. Rewilding is a great way of enhancing the climate change resilience of landscapes and communities.