As a child, a trip to the river in the summer has always been fraught with adventure, joy, and friends. We carry these memories throughout our lives, so rivers often have a special place in our hearts. Indeed, rivers and water bodies give us a wide range of positive emotions and impressions: from thrill and excitement to relaxation and inner harmony. They provide many different opportunities for active or relaxing holidays for all tastes. Let’s mention some of them with you.

From time immemorial, people have settled on the banks of rivers and lakes, because they knew: they mean life! Rivers and floodplains provide local communities with food and other resources that allow them to thrive. In part, these products and materials reach the inhabitants of large cities, so one way or another we all depend on rivers.

Is it possible to drink water from the river? Yes, we all do it every day, because the water comes to our taps through pipes from rivers. Of course, it undergoes a complex process of purification using physical and chemical methods, the set of which may vary depending on the river and area. But do you know that nature also has its own filters that effectively clean water from various types of pollution?

Today, February 9, WWF-Ukraine and Rewilding Ukraine are launching the information campaign to draw the attention of Ukrainians to the value of rivers and wetlands, which are complex natural systems providing people with many ecosystem services. The environmental organizations emphasize the need to preserve and restore the rivers and floodplains of Ukraine.

For many years a network of dykes and canals have choked the life out of the Danube Delta. Rewilding efforts in the Ukrainian part of the delta are now restoring water flow, enhancing wildlife populations and benefitting local communities.

The Danube Delta is one of Rewilding Europe’s nine large rewilding areas. Rewilding Ukraine, being a non-governmental organization and a proud partner of the Rewilding Europe network, is working to revitalize 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.

Despite the difficult weather conditions, at the end of December 2021, winter survey of the Dalmatian pelican took place in Ukraine. It was organized simultaneously with similar surveys in other Eastern European countries. This year’s results give hope: three and a half times more pelicans are left to spend the winter in the Danube Delta than last year.

Dear friends, partners, and supporters, with the year approaching to an end we would like to look back and reflect on some of the major achievements we have made together this year from restoring the swathes of delta landscape, return of the wildlife, and to support of local economies and awareness-raising.

The arrival of 20 more kulan on the Tarutino Steppe is part of a long-term reintroduction programme. The animals will fill an important ecological niche and enhance biodiversity.

About a thousand years ago, large, wild herbivores started to disappear from Europe. Hunting, poaching and loss of biotope led to their decline. And with the vanishing of those large animals, their behaviour and its influence on the environment stopped too. Not only their grazing behaviour and its effect on vegetation but also the wallowing, rooting and digging. As for the last one, wild bulls used to dig pits in the rutting season to impress the opponents and the cows. As it appears now, these pits were hotspots for pioneer plants and insects.