Extended wetland in Mahmudia risks being turned back to cropland
A large swathe of farmland that has been restored to recreate a wetland in Mahmudia, Romania, is at risk of being drained, despite the wishes of the local community.
In June 2023, a dyke that surrounding the Mahmudia ecological restoration area failed, and waters overflowed from the restored area onto land leased for agriculture. This happened eight years after an agricultural area near Mahmudia had been reconstructed as part of a project in which WWF-Romania contributed and which was financed with European funds. The restored area had become a thriving wetland, full of biodiversity, contributing significantly to the development of tourism in the area.
The Carasuhat-Mahmudia ecological restoration site.
The area reclaimed by the Delta, after the dyke failure in 2023.
The 2023 naturally flooded area has been well received by locals.
A sociological survey in 2023 found that 97% of the local community wants to keep the extended wetland and does not agree with draining it to be used as farmland again.
But the wishes of the locals, as well as those of nature, run up against the interests of the agricultural leaseholders of the flooded land. Moreover, the dyke is the subject of a dispute between the leaseholders and its administrator (Mahmudia Municipality).
By court order, in autumn 2023, it was decided (in the first instance) that the dyke should be repaired, which would also entail temporary drainage of the reconstructed area. For this to be possible, the wetland created in 2016 is also at risk of draining.
WWF-Romania is calling for the Mahmudia wetland to be designated, by government decision, as an „national interest ecological restoration area”, in order to protect its natural benefits and for the prosperity of the community.
The benefits of ecological restoration so far, through the eyes of locals
In 2016, a project for the ecological restoration of 924 hectares of agricultural land in the Carasuhat agricultural development near Mahmudia was completed. WWF-Romania was one of the organisations that carried out the project.
The project is a success for the local community and nature – local tourism is on the rise, the fish resource has increased (and with it the presence of the iconic birds of the Delta), distances have been shortened for locals who previously had to bypass the dyke area to reach certain fishing areas by boat. The results of the project confirm the benefits of ecological restoration as reported by the scientific literature:
- diversification of ecosystem types and biodiversity
- providing habitats for birds, reptiles and mammals
- increasing resilience to climate change (reduced risk of flooding and drought)
- healthier natural resources (cleaner water and air)
- carbon sequestration in soil
Mahmudia, one of the most important access routes into the Danube Delta
This is not the first time that the benefits of ecological restoration for the community have been highlighted, both socially and economically.
A comparative socio-economic study carried out in 2021 confirms the sustainable development of Mahmudia from 2016 to the time of the study.
The development of the tourism sector is the main benefit, accelerating the economic development of the area, as fishing has become a subsistence activity practiced by only a part of the inhabitants.
The new access routes facilitate boat transport and shorten travel time, creating the conditions for this commune in Tulcea county to become a new gateway to the Delta.
The ecological restoration project in the former Carasuhat agricultural area allows for the free development of biodiversity in harmony with the local people.
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