Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing war in Ukraine and associated restrictions, our team, in collaboration with partners, persevered in the mission to restore and rewild the magnificent Danube Delta region throughout 2023. From wetland restoration to wildlife comeback and nature education, the year was punctuated by numerous rewilding successes.
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28, kicked off a few days ago. The need to slash anthropogenic carbon emissions is urgent, yet delegates should also bear in mind that nature can and must play an essential role in fixing our climate.
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.
Not only iconic large animal species are important for nature. Lesser known species, such as the European beaver, also play an important role in the rewilding of natural systems. The fauna and flora of the Danube Delta and adjacent areas create complex, balanced and interdependent ecosystems that support wildlife and people. In these systems, each species has its important place and affects many other species. Let’s talk about beavers: why they are interesting and why they are useful for nature and local communities.
Last week, a group of female fallow deer arrived at the protected Tarutino steppe and was temporarily released into an acclimatization enclosure. They joined the males that settled here two years ago to lay the foundation for a stable population of the species in the region.
A family of three European hamsters was released into the wild in the protected Tarutino steppe in the south of Odesa oblast as part of the cooperation of the Kyiv Zoo, Rewilding Ukraine, and the Tarutino steppe nature and ethnographic park. Hamsters, along with other herbivores reintroduced to the region through rewilding efforts, should restore food chains and enrich the steppe fauna.
Today, many countries celebrate World Rivers Day. Rivers are very important to people because they provide us with many important things: food, clean water, building materials, transportation corridors, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and much more. But not only people gravitate to rivers and water bodies. Rivers and especially wetlands are home, kitchen or bedroom for many plants and animals of our planet. More than 40% of species are associated with these natural systems in one way or another. Let’s figure out what the term “biodiversity” means, which you can hear quite often from ecologists, and how we are related to it.
The restoration of wildlife populations can play a game-changing role stabilising our climate. Rewilding is the best way to enable such a recovery.