site.btaRelationship between Man and River Is the Theme of Earth Hour 2024

The relationship between humans and rivers is the focus of Earth Hour 2024, the conservation organisation WWF has announced. The annual event will take place on March 23, when millions of people around the world are expected to turn off the lights in their homes as a short break for the planet.

Fishermen are among those most affected by the damage to river ecosystems caused by human activity, according to environmentalists. They cite the state of the Danube, which forms Bulgaria's northern border, as an example. Over the past 150 years, 80% of the floodplains and wetlands along the Danube have disappeared, WWF says.

Damage and damming of the European Union's longest river is having severe consequences for fishing communities along its course.

As a result of the destruction of their habitat, three of the six Danube sturgeon species are critically endangered, one is threatened and two are considered extinct, severely impacting the livelihoods of fishermen. People living along the Danube have relied on this species of fish since the 11th century, according to ancient chronicles.

In Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Serbia, there is a complete ban on sturgeon fishing in the Danube and the Black Sea. However, according to the head of WWF's Waters Programme, Stoyan Mihov, despite the ban, many of the adults that enter the river to reproduce still fall prey to poachers.

At WWF Bulgaria's suggestion, the Ministry of Environment and Water has declared the Esetrite - Vetren section of the Danube a protected area in the summer of 2022. This area is located on more than 288 hectares near the Srebarna lake.

In addition to being an important habitat on their long journey to the sea, this stretch is home to another 40 fish species, and 21 of them are listed in the Red Data Book of Bulgaria, the ecologists write.

WWF warns that any wild sturgeon product is illegal and harms both the few remaining sturgeon populations and the future incomes of local fishing communities. Conservationists have released nearly 90,000 sturgeon fry into the Danube over the past ten years in an attempt to protect the population.

The "Give an hour for Earth" appeal aims to encourage people not only to symbolically turn off the lights for 60 minutes on March 23, but also to devote time to useful nature-friendly activities, WWF Bulgaria's Kalina Boyadzhieva, Earth Hour coordinator, told BTA.

The organization has created a platform where there are various proposals for citizens to get involved. Donations, visiting a second-hand shop, preparing plant-based meals or planting a tree are just some of the ways to join.