Directory of Azov-Black Sea Coastal Wetlands
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Directory of Azov-Black Sea Coastal Wetlands Kyiv–2003 Directory of Azov-Black Sea Coastal Wetlands: Revised and updated. — Kyiv: Wetlands International, 2003. — 235 pp., 81 maps. — ISBN 90 5882 9618 Published by the Black Sea Program of Wetlands International PO Box 82, Kiev-32, 01032, Ukraine E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Gennadiy Marushevsky Editing of English text: Rosie Ounsted Lay-out: Victor Melnychuk Photos on cover: Valeriy Siokhin, Vasiliy Kostyushin The presentation of material in this report and the geographical designations employed do not imply the expres- sion of any opinion whatsoever on the part of Wetlands International concerning the legal status of any coun- try, area or territory, or concerning the delimitation of its boundaries or frontiers. The publication is supported by Wetlands International through a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (MATRA Fund/Programme International Nature Management) ISBN 90 5882 9618 Copyright © 2003 Wetlands International, Kyiv, Ukraine All rights reserved CONTENTS CONTENTS3 6 7 13 14 15 16 22 22 24 26 28 30 32 35 37 40 43 45 46 54 54 56 58 58 59 61 62 64 64 66 67 68 70 71 76 80 80 82 84 85 86 86 86 89 90 90 91 91 93 Contents 3 94 99 99 100 101 103 104 106 107 109 111 113 114 119 119 126 130 132 135 139 142 148 149 152 153 155 157 157 158 160 162 164 164 165 170 170 172 173 175 177 179 180 182 184 186 188 191 193 196 198 199 201 202 4 Directory of Azov-Black Sea Coastal Wetlands 203 204 207 208 209 210 212 214 214 216 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 230 232 233 Contents 5 EDITORIAL AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Directory is based on the national reports prepared for the Wetlands International project ‘The Importance of Black Sea Coastal Wetlands in Particular for Migratory Waterbirds’, sponsored by the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. At the seminar of the same name, held in February 2000 in Odessa, Ukraine, national co-ordinators (leaders of national experts' groups) were identified. They were responsible for the preparation of the national reports on inventories of Black Sea coastal wetlands. The latter were presented and dis- cussed at the following international workshop ‘Conservation, Restoration and Wise-use of Wetlands and Wetlands Resources along the Black Sea Coast‘ held in September 2000 in Odessa. First and foremost, we acknowledge with pleasure the huge debt of gratitude we owe to the very responsible and con- scientious Gennadiy Marushevsky, an international co-ordinator, who communicated with national co-ordinators and teams, compiled information, edited all articles and provided the final shape of the Directory. The Directory has been completed due to the input of the national co-ordinators. We highly appreciate the work of Ljubomir Profirov (Bulgaria), Revaz Goradze (Georgia), Alexei Andreev (Moldova), Grigore Baboianu (Romania), Anatoliy Gineev and Victor Belik (Russia), Sunay Demircan (Turkey) and Vladimir Stoilovsky (Ukraine). Many thanks of course to all members of the national teams who contributed to the Directory. Alexei Andreev, National Co-ordinator of the Moldova team, expresses his thanks to the experts, Serghei Jurminschi, Nicolai Zubcov, Tatiana Izverscaia, Vitaliy Lobcenco, Sergiu Magdyl, Andrei Munteanu, Ion Toderas and Gennadii Sirodoev, who provided the diverse data. The authors of the Russian Directory express their thanks to Murat H. Emtyl and Yuriy Lokhman for materials on bird numbers for the Kiziltashsky Liman Complex, Yeisky Liman, Beisugsky Liman and Lake Khanskoye. We are thank- ful to Olga Anisimova and Irina Onufrenya from Wetlands International – Russia Programme who rendered us some of the maps. Very valuable comments on the development of the BlackSeaWet Initiative were received from the Ramsar Convention Bureau, and particularly Tobias Salathe. Igor Ivanenko was most helpful in co-operation between the Black Sea Programme of Wetlands International and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine. We particularly wish to thank Anatoliy Korzyukov and his students who helped with the preparation, hosting and run- ning of the workshops. Exciting trips to the Dnister and Danube Deltas would not have been possible without Ivan and Tamara Rusevy, Alexander Voloshkevich, Mikhail Zhmud and the staff of the Danube Biosphere Reserve to whom we are very grateful. Many thanks to the staff of the Odessa WWF office for simultaneous interpretations undertaken throughout the work- shops and excursions. We address our candid gratitude to Tamara Kutonova who assisted us during the project, in preparation of the con- ferences and translated the Russian part of the Directory. Furthermore, we wish to recognize the important contribution of Rosie Ounsted for the English edition of this volume. Dr. Vasyl Gelyuta and Dr. Alexander Tsvelykh were of great help in editing Latin names of species. The layout including the final version of maps is entirely due to Victor Melnychuk’s care and professionalism. Thank you! InterEcoCentre, which provided the financial management of the project, is also thanked warmly. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the funders of the project, the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. Rob van Westrienen, Technical Advisor Eastern Europe, Wetlands International Vasiliy Kostyushin, Co-ordinator of the Black Sea Programme of Wetlands International 6 Directory of Azov-Black Sea Coastal Wetlands INTRODUCTION by Gennadiy Marushevsky, Black Sea Programme of Wetlands International, Ukraine The Black and Azov Seas are almost completely enclosed waterbodies bordered by six countries: Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. The Black Sea has an area of 422,000 km2 and a total volume of 537,000 km3, three quarters of which is between 200 and 2,200 m deep and permanently anoxic. The only extensive shallow areas (< 200 m) are on the northwestern shelf, which is fed by the Rivers Danube, Dniestr (Dniester) and Dnipro (Dnieper). The Azov Sea, fed by the Rivers Don and Kuban, has an area of 38,000 km2; its average depth is 8 m and maximum no more than 14 m. The Black Sea is the only warm-water marine environmental resource for Eastern Europe and until quite recently was home to fisheries that were five times richer than those of the neighbouring Mediterranean (UNDP/UNEP/WB 1993). The Azov Sea, due to its shallowness, warmth and mix of waters, was once the most productive sea in the world for fisheries. In the 1930s, the total fish catch was 300,000 tonnes, including more than 160,000 tonnes of valuable fish species. In terms of fish productivity, the Azov Sea exceeded the Caspian Sea by a factor of six and the Black Sea by a factor of 25. Due to the significant decrease of freshwater drainage into the Black and Azov Seas (as a result of dam construction and use of river water for industry and agriculture), the salinity of the two seas has increased (the salinity of the Black Sea from 16-18‰ to 18-20‰, of the Azov Sea from 11-12‰ to 14‰), the plank- ton biomass has decreased and fish stocks have declined significantly. The Black Sea is now among the most polluted waterbodies on earth. With its drainage basin of 17 countries – five times the area of the sea itself – the Black Sea is affected by the activities of about 165 million people. Industrial and agricultural pollution, both on the shores of the sea itself and from inflowing rivers, combined with the sea's being virtually enclosed, which reduces flushing capacity, has resulted in significant pollution and eutrophication. The quantity of mineral fertilisers entering the Black Sea via river water has increased ten-fold in the past 20-25 years. The Danube alone adds 60,000 tonnes of phosphates and 340,000 tonnes of nitrates annually (Alexandrov 1998). To combat the degradation of the Black Sea, conservation efforts must address both the direct pollution and the degradation of wetlands within the catchment. The Black Sea coastal wetlands serve as natural filters, trapping pollutants and sediments from rivers. These wetlands are threatened by development, deforestation, unregulated house-building, pollution from agriculture, and discharges from industrial plants. Continuing degradation of these wetlands could eliminate an important natural buffer between the polluted rivers and the Black Sea. The coastal wetlands are very important for eco- logical processes as well as for their rich flora and fauna. The Black Sea coastal wetlands support a rich and globally significant diversity of habitats and species. These wetlands include habitats such as reed-dominated marshes, forest riverine flood plains, inland lakes and lagoons, limans, deltas, coastal lagoons and bays, silt and sand flats, as well as artificial wetlands such as fish ponds, rice paddies and salt ponds. Although the Black Sea coastal wetlands are of vital importance for both human society and wildlife, because of extensive human activity they are amongst the most threatened habitats. The large network of diverse and distinctive coastal wetlands in the Black Sea region belongs to an intricate system of marine, riverine and steppe environments. This network of wetlands is of utmost importance for millions of migratory waterbirds in the East African and Mediterranean flyways and plays therefore a key role in the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA, under the Bonn Convention). Despite their considerable deterioration in size and quality over the last few decades, these wetlands maintain extensive areas of relatively high ecological integrity. The largest Black Sea wetlands are found in the coastal lowlands of Romania, Russia and Ukraine, where the massive catchments of the Rivers Danube, Dniestr, Dnipro, Don and Kuban support the river deltas.