Area: 399,31 ха
Ownership: state - 100%
Description:
An island in the Danube (km 717), covered by tree vegetation, with the adjacent section of the river and the river banks, located to the north of the village of Dolni Tsibar, east from the town of Lom. It is built by river deposits, mainly of loam and sand. The bigger part of the island is overgrown with the typical for the Danube islands riverine forests of Alnus glutinosa, Salix alba and Salix fragilis, Populus alba and Populus nigra, at places mixed with artificial poplar plantations and hygrophyte grass associations. The forests have a rich and practically impenetrable undergrowth of lianas and blackberry Rubus sp.. The island’s western bank is a vast sand strip without vegetation (Bondev 1991, Boev 1992; Georgiev 1993). There are shallow river waters around the island.
Birds:
The international importance of Ibisha Island is defined by the presence of the biggest mixed population of herons and cormorants in the country. It is a site of global importance for the nesting Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus and one of the five most important Bulgarian sites for the nesting Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides and Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia. The colonies of herons and cormorants are fully dependent on the riverine forests for nesting, as well as shallow parts of the river around the island for fishing.
Threats:
The Ibisha Island is sensitive to forestry activities in the island and to the hydrology of the Danube River. All forest activities related to clear cutting, removal of the forest undergrowth, as well as afforestation with hybrid poplar have negative impact on the riverine forests. Big investment projects related to international transport corridor No1 – Danube River will cause permanent change in the hydrological regime of the river as well as disappearance of shallow waters around the island. It will have a negative impact on the breeding colonies of birds.
Legal protection:
About 9% of the area has been under strict protection as a reserve since 1984. In 1997 the area was designated as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. In 1998 about 34% of the area was designated as CORINE Site because of its European value for habitats, rare and threatened plant and animal species, including birds. In 2003 almost all territory of Ibisha Island IBA was designated as Ramsar site because it is of international importance for colonially breeding birds. The proposed SPA borders a proposed Special Protection Area in Romania.
