At the end of a course of over 2,840km, collecting the water from a vast hydrological basin that covers 8% of the area of Europe, the DANUBE (the second largest river of the Continent) has during the last 16,000 years built as its mouth with the Black Sea one of the most beautiful deltas in Europe, perhaps in the whole world. The Danube Delta is famous as one of the greatest wetlands of the Earth. The wonderful natural habitats formed here offer good living conditions for an impressive number of plants and animals. Among these, reed forms one of the largest expanses in the world, and Letea and Caraorman forests represent the northern limit for two rare species of oak that are more frequently met in the south of the Italian and Balkan peninsulas. Together with the great number of aquatic and terrestrial plants, there are also many important colonies of pelicans and cormorants, characteristic of the Danube Delta as well as a variety of other water birds which visit or reside in the delta for breeding and wintering. The large number of fish is also notable, with species of high economic and ecological value. 
Without doubt, the impressive range of habitats and species which occupy a relatively small area makes the Danube Delta a vital center for biodiversity in Europe, and a natural genetic bank with incalculable value for global natural heritage.
present time, put increasing pressure on the resources, especially fish and grasslands, in addition to development of economic activities which were not in harmony with Delta’s environment. It also caused the loss of some areas of natural fish spawning grounds through the sedimentation and eutrophication (or nutrient enrichment) of water channels and lakes. Because of the cumulative negative effects of human activity in the delta, together with those occurring around the delta itself, there was an increasing danger that the natural ecological balance would become irreparably harmed if appropriate measures were not taken to reduce these impacts, to restore already damaged areas, to protect the existing unaffected areas, and to harness local and regional support for these measures.
Many of the plant and animal species found in the delta are also important natural resources for economic use as food, building materials and medicines. They have attracted people to the area since ancient times. The human dwellings were mainly based on the use of these natural resources, so traditional economic activities and characteristic cultural and social habitats developed. Later, there was a tendency to overexploit some of these natural resources. This tendency, which is still seen at the The factors briefly described above provided arguments for the designation of the DANUBE DELTA A BIOSPHERE RESERVE by the Romanian Government in 1990, a decision then confirmed by the Romanian Parliament through Law 82/1993. The universal value of the reserve was recognized by the “Man and Biosphere” Program of UNESCO in 1990 through its inclusion in the international network of biosphere reserves. From September 1990, the DDBR was listed as a wetland of international importance especially as waterfowl habitat under the Ramsar Convention, and is among the largest of the 600 or so wetlands so recognized. The universal natural heritage value of the reserve was recognized in December 1990 by the inclusion of the strictly protected areas in the World Heritage List under the World Heritage Convention. |