Aldomirovtsi marsh regains its past glory
In the first half of the past century the Aldomirovtsi marsh, near the Bulgarian town of Slivnitza used to be a favourite spot for the citizens of the nearby city of Sofia and a paradise for the fishermen. In 1982 a grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) weighing over 23 kilograms was caught in the marsh, which was a national record. Unfortunately by the end of the 80s the marsh dried out despite it is a protected area. One of the possible reasons was using the waters for irrigation. The economic collapse after the democratic changes in the beginning of the 90s dealt a harsh blow to Bulgarian agriculture. This, however, caused the Aldomirovtsi marsh to start filling with water again. Still the fight for protection of the number of animals and plants that inhabit the marsh has not been completely won.
The Municipality of Slivnitsa together with the Balkani environmental organisation and with the help of the Environment Operational Programme of the EU work for the protection of the marsh and its inhabitants. The first important task is restoring the fish fauna of the marsh, as this will also attract bird species.
“The fish fauna must be recovered in order for the rare bird species to return to the area and this is one of the biggest and most complicated tasks,” Andrei Ralev says. “First, we must know what the quality of the water is in order to select the right species. We already have a plan for doing this at different stages but restoring the fish fauna would also attract fishermen. Despite it is a protected area, fishing is allowed in the period August-February. That is why we are also to introduce fish that attract people keen on ice fishing. However, fishing from boats inside the marsh is not allowed, as this disturbs the birds.”
The gray crane
Environmentalists hope to see the rare bird species return to the marsh. One of these birds is the crane, which cannot be seen nesting any more in Bulgaria.
“Currently the crane returns to the regions of Northern Europe and there is a big population in Germany,” Andrey Ralev says. “In Bulgaria there used to be cranes in the Batak marsh, which was turned into a dam, as well as the Straldzha swamp, which dried out. There were cranes also in the Dragoman swamp. It is a curious fact that the migration routes of the crane have changed and few of these birds fly over Bulgaria any more. In the past 3 or four years we observed several cranes that spent some time around the Aldomirovtsi marsh. The area is very suitable for nesting and we hope that the coming of birds here for the summer is a signal that some may start nesting here again. In order for this to happen, however, they need enough food.”
The ground squirrel
The project for protection of the swamp also counts on the return of animals like the ground squirrel and the turtle to the area.
“The population of ground squirrels was big in Bulgaria but it was regarded as pest and now in the region of Sofia the animal can be rarely seen. There are a few of these animals in the region of Slivnitsa. We are to try helping in restoring the population by buying agricultural lands and turning them into meadows. There are suitable regions near the Aldomirovtsi marsh and we hope to succeed as the animals are very attractive to tourists.”
The programme for the protection of the marsh is very ambitious as its tasks are very difficult to achieve. The ground squirrel cannot adapt easily to new regions while the land turtle is on the verge of extinction in Bulgaria.
“We have managed to preserve a population near the Serbian border,” Andrey Kovachev says. “We have also started a project for the creation of a turtle centre. We hope that we shall be able to restore the population of these animals in the region of Sofia. The breeding centre can be used also for educational purposes. Our task is to provide people of the 21st century a contact with nature.”
The Balkani Association regularly organizes excursions for children to the protected Dragoman swamp, which is near the Aldomirovtsi marsh. The municipalities in the region – Slivnitsa, Dragoman, and Kostinbrod already have big plans for developing ecological and alternative tourism. The region is also close to the capital city of Sofia, which promises a good future for these plans.
Fri May 04, 2012 4:52 pm
