Demonstration of a pilot green infrastructure as a win-win solution for biodiversity and development in Lake Varna

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Lake Varna is situated in northeastern Bulgaria, along the Black Sea coast and next to the third-largest city in Bulgaria, Varna, which is a large industrial centre. Once a closed freshwater lagoon (liman), Varna Lake was first connected with the sea in 1909. In 1923, a second canal was dug, connecting Varna Lake with Beloslav Lake, further from the sea. In 1976, a shipping route was constructed to connect both lakes with the Black Sea, which caused an increase in their salinity. Sediments from the canals are dredged annually to keep the depth required for large commercial ships. The ship canals and the increased water salinity have caused a huge change in the biodiversity of both lakes. The fish fauna was composed of freshwater and brackish species, but these have been replaced by mainly marine species. Conditions have also deteriorated due to wastewater inflows from two factories (built in 1954 and 1964) in Devnya, Beloslav Lake. Pollution has persistently caused anoxia and blooms of toxic algae. In both lakes, invertebrates, including bivalves, marine shrimps, Polychaeta worms, and especially amphipods (Gammaridae), comprise a good trophic base for many bird species. However, the ship canals and urbanisation have destroyed the most valuable breeding and foraging habitats for birds. Despite this, lakes Varna and Beloslav have remained sites of international importance for birds. In 1995, after an intensive campaign by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), the largest reedbed in Varna Lake was designated as a protected site, Kazashko. In 1997, Varna-Beloslav Lake was designated an Important Bird Area (IBA). The area was included in the Natura 2000 network in 2007, and designated as a SPA in 2012. Every winter, more than 20 000 waterfowl of 64 species concentrate there. The lake territory supports 202 bird species. The area provides suitable habitats for 70 species included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act of Bulgaria, of which 64 are listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive. Lakes Varna and Beloslav are the only wetland between lakes Durankulak and Shabla to the north and the Burgas Lakes to the south, which are 200 km apart. Because of this, Varna-Beloslav Lake SPA is of exceptional importance for birds during migration, and is a bottleneck migration site for a number of bird species, including pygmy cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus*), pochard (Aythya ferina), Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus*), Ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca*), and white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala*). However, the lack of suitable nesting sites for birds significantly reduces the ecological importance of the SPA.

OBJECTIVES

The overarching goal of the LIFE for Lake Varna project is to demonstrate large-scale green infrastructure that will achieve three main outcomes: (i) Restore key habitats for priority bird species, thus contributing to the achievement of biodiversity conservation goals in two Natura 2000 sites (Varna-Beloslav Lake and Yatata); (ii) Improve the ecosystem function of Lake Varna; and (iii) Provide a sustainable and economically-sound solution for storage of dredged sediments from the ship channels.

To achieve these goals, the project has the following specific objectives:

Develop and test comprehensive monitoring schemes for bird and aquatic species in the SPAs, and establish their current conservation status;

Create a model artificial island, with a total area of 3.5 ha, that will provide breeding grounds for threatened bird species and an underwater substrate for fish and zoo-benthic species in the Varna-Beloslav Lake SPA;

Construct two wooden platforms, 32 m2 each, for the nesting and roosting of priority bird species in both Varna-Beloslav Lake SPA and Yatata SPA;

Develop a set of measures for sustainable management of the project SPAs and create a legislative framework for the designation, sustainable operation and control ofthe dredged material depots;

Secure support from local stakeholders by demonstrating the benefits of establishing a green infrastructure for nature and people; and

Promote transferability and replicability of the projects results, with the green infrastructure method applied to 9 additional locations in Varna-Beloslav Lake SPA.

 

The project contributes to the Bulgarian Priority Action Framework (PAF) and the EU Birds Directive, especially for bird species listed at the priority conservation level (Dalmatian pelican, pygmy cormorant, white-headed duck, and Ferruginous duck), and to Target 2 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 (Maintain and restore ecosystems and their services). The projects transnational significance relates to the Natura 2000 sites importance as stopover sites for migrating birds along the Via Pontica bird migration route, and for wintering waterfowl. The project also contributes to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation of dredged sediments to the open sea or mainland depots, due to its use in green infrastructure. The creation of the island alone will save 40 000 liters of diesel fuel, and consequently 105 600 kg of CO2 and 49 520 kg of NOx will not be emitted into the atmosphere.

RESULTS

Expected results:

Development, testing and demonstration of a new type of green infrastructure that provides breeding habitats for priority bird species, improves ecosystem functioning of severely damaged aquatic ecosystems, and provides a sustainable and economically-sound solution for storage of dredged sediments from ship canals;

Construction of an artificial island of 3.5 ha, with suitable breeding and foraging habitat for priority bird species in the eastern part of the Varna-Beloslav SPA;

Creation of an underwater part of the island, with a total area of 3.7 ha, that provides a habitat for invertebrates, which are the basis of the food pyramid "invertebrates - fish - water birds". For every 1 m2 of underwater substrate, there will be about 10-100 thousand (1-5 kg) of attached organisms, mainly "filterers" such as Mytillus spp.;

Two wooden platforms, 32 m2 each, constructed as a nesting and roosting substrate for priority bird species in the Varna-Beloslav Lake SPA and the Yatata SPA;

A tested methodology and comprehensive monitoring scheme for bird and aquatic species in the project SPAs, and their currents status established;

Increased bird species diversity and numbers at the project sites, andup to 10% increase of the national populations of common tern (Sterna hirundo), sandwich tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis), little tern (Sternula albifrons), and pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta);

Improved aquatic ecosystems, with increased populations of fish and zoo-benthic species;

A set of measures for sustainable management of the project SPA submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) for inclusion in the future management plans of the project SPAs;

The legislative framework for the designation, sustainable operation, and control of the dredged material depots in Bulgaria developed and approved by the Bulgarian Parliament;

A new Info-Point for promoting wetland conservation and the demonstration of the green infrastructure;

Key stakeholders and potential users in Bulgaria and elsewhere in the EU are aware of the green infrastructure techniques and the benefits they bring for nature and local economic development; and

At least 2 million people at national level informed about the project activities, resulting in a substantial increase in the public awareness on the status, threats, and conservation of the Natura 2000 sites covered by the project.