The number of visitors to the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (RBDD) to observe birds, to exercise outdoors, by kayak or bicycle, and also for nature photos has increased this year by at least 15% from the year before, despite the numerous RO-ALERT messages sent by the Romanian authorities to the population in the cross-border area amid Russia's attacks against Ukraine, according to specialised tourism operators.

The director of a travel agency that offers nature photography and birdwatching tours in RBDD, Iliuta Goean, told AGERPRES that leisure tourism in the reserve has suffered this year due to numerous RO-ALERT messages and a defective information of the population.

'On the leisure tourism side, that news either that the Danube has dried up and that nothing can be done, or that drones are falling all day in the Delta did us no good at all. The worst is with the RO-ALERT messages. That you can still see the planes passing, that you can still hear in the distance (...) an explosion is something else, but to receive four, five RO-ALERT messages in three, four hours is shocking to customers who do not know why these messages come. Many tourists left, because they did not find any clear explanation for what it means that objects will fall from the sky. They didn't even want to listen to explanations. When a person has entered a state of general panic, logic no longer works,' said Goean.

He also pointed out that the drop in the water level in the reserve benefits tourists who want to see pelicans, as bird colonies gather in lakes and circulating canals, and noted that specialised tourism for nature photography and bird watching seems to be increasing, even though the autumn bird migration season is not over.

'We prefer tourists who really know what they are looking for in the Delta, who are really looking to be close to nature. Unfortunately, people lately prefer to go in fast, covered boats, and I don't understand why they come. They listen to music during the trip. We don't want this kind of customers, because we want to offer an authentic experience and that's why we focus a lot on specialised tourism, which has grown,' said the manager of the travel agency.

A representative of a company that also offers tours of the Delta by bicycle and kayak, Calin Ene, recalled that the RBDD visitors who come to the area for such activities are especially foreigners and that they have started the tourist season in the area.

'When RO-ALERT comes to us, we say 'God, let it be a drone, not a storm'! When there is a storm, we don't go out on the water, when there are drones, we go out, because they are every day. We also receive storm warnings, not just drones. I saw a video from afar of a drone in Sulina, but drones are rarer than pelicans. We didn't find any drone fragments in the Delta. Whoever wants a 5:00 a.m. rating can find drones. It's sensational to find a drone. The flock of pelicans is a water gun, but when you see a piece of a drone... that's the feeling of the moment,' said Ene.

The two travel agents estimate an increase in specialised tourism by at least 15% from the year ago.

'We are talking about people of another level, with another experience. If we explain to them why the RO-ALERT messages come, they understand. They are also willing to take some risks to see or photograph birds. With leisure tourists it is completely different. They want to stay relaxed,' said manager Goean.

At the same time, on the border with the war unleashed by Russia, in the former communist camp in Periprava, the Rewilding Romania foundation is trying to transform the area socially, but also culturally, as the RBDD cross-border area, with parts in Moldova, Romania and Ukraine, is one of the landscapes promoted internationally by Rewilding Europe, given that 'landscape' actually means biotope.

'We have a partnership with the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania and we have already published a pamphlet in the effort to recover memory. Historically, there was a flood area, very biotopically rich. The construction of the dams created alluvial sediments, increased the surface of dunes which in themselves are an interesting biotope, but we also have invasive species, such as the wicker, the Russian olive. For this renature, human presence is needed. We already have a fish engineer and we are trying to restore the biotope from the bottom up. Our ambition is to create a fish farm based on a natural water circuit, as much as possible, that can benefit the community, to somehow revive the area and to create a scientific, cultural and social renaturation hub there,' said Rewilding Romania foundation official Alec Balasescu.

Photo: Luisiana BIGEA / AGERPRES FOTO

The project carried out with a specialised company from the Netherlands, with a portfolio of works all over the world, is designed both to preserve the dam built by former owners of the Periprava camp, and to set up a water analysis laboratory.

'We have ties with the local community, and we want to make a citizen-style water analysis laboratory, in which we teach children how to do water analysis. We have the support of the CA Rosetti City Hall. The school in the village of Periprava is now closed, so we will have a room that we will use for this laboratory, and, at the same time, we will build a toilet inside the school,' said Balasescu.

Amidst the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, he acknowledged the difficulty of the approach.

'Explosions can be heard, and if you go out at night, you can see them. You can hear the anti-aircraft guns, you can hear the drones, but not every night. It's not like in the movies, it's not intensity, but when you hear it and the ground shakes, sometimes, especially when there are bombings at 2:00 - 3:00 at night, you wake up and then it's harder to fall back asleep. (...) There is also Rewilding Ukraine. We work together on projects, we have the same leader at the central level, we discuss a lot, exchange experience, and our vision is 'good for nature, good for man'', concluded the representative of the Rewilding Romania foundation, Alec Balasescu.

Covering 5,800 square kilometres, the Danube Delta is recognised as the youngest land in Europe, and part of it is found in Ukraine, an area administered by the Danube Biosphere Reserve in the neighbouring country.

The Danube Delta was declared a Biosphere Reserve under a UNESCO programme in 1990, after the Romanian government adopted a decision in that regard.

In 1999, the delta in Romania and Ukraine was included in the international network of cross-border biosphere reserves, according to data provided by the RBDD Administration. Afterwards, the authorities took steps for the Lower Prut reserve in Moldova to be part of RBDD.

In fact, in the three areas of this possible reserve, several fragments of drones used by Russia in attacks against Ukraine were seized.

Since the beginning of this year, the population in the communities on the Romanian-Ukrainian border has received more RO-ALERT messages than those received between September 2023 and December 2025. In these messages, the Romanian authorities urge the population to remain calm and to shelter for a period of up to 90 minutes, given that there is a possibility of objects falling from the sky. AGERPRES (RO- writing by: Luisiana Bigea; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)