Area: 324,78 ха
Ownership: state - 47%; municipality - 3%; private - 50%;
Description:
Garvansko Marsh is located in north-eastern Bulgaria, about 30 km to the west of Silistra, on the Danube bank, in the grounds of the villages of Garvan and Popina. It occupies an area flooded by the Danube in a relief declination between the villages mentioned above. In the past it used to be connected with the river. Nowadays there is a dyke in its northern part, which disturbs its natural water balance. Currently the marsh has an open water mirror with area 48.43 ha with water depth that not exceeds 0.7-0.8 m. Its banks are covered with hygrophyte vegetation – reed Phragmites australis, reed mace Typha latifolia, Roppia palustris, Oenanthe aquatica, Scirpus sp., Potamogeton sp., Rannunculus aquatilis, Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, etc.
Birds:
In spite of its small area the Garvansko marsh supports 26 bird species, 8 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 5 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 1 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 1 in SPEC 2 and 3 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 6 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 3 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The marsh is one of the most important sites in the country on European Union scale of the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca that breeds there. Other waterbird species also breeds there in good numbers as the Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena, the Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus and the Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus.
Threats:
The Garvansko Marsh is situated in the vicinity of as settlement and the access to it is practically not-limited. As the wetland is very small it is highly sensitive to the changes in the water regime and water quality, as well as the human activities that take place at both at the marsh and around it. The biggest treats to the wetland are the pollution of the water by wastewater coming from the village, as well as the rapid eutrophicationr of the marsh. To prevent further deterioration and loss of habitats urgent restoration measures are needed. The direct threat to birds is the intensive hunting on waterbirds, which does not get into consideration the carrying capacity of the wetland.
Legal protection:
Almost all territory of the Garvansko Marsh was designated as protected area in 1985 to protect the rare and threatened plant and waterbird species. It was designated as CORINE Site in 1998 because of its European value for rare and threatened plant and animal species, including birds. In 2005 it was designated also as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
