site.btaSeptember 20, 1983: Srebarna Lake Designated as Reserve

Srebarna Lake on the righthand bank of the Danube in Silistra Region (Northeast Bulgaria) was designated a nature reserve by a Council of Ministers decree dated September 20, 1948, to protect the diversity of its bird population. It provides critical habitat that supports 173 bird species, 78 species of which are of European conservation concern, and nine being listed as globally threatened, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says on its website. 

Srebarna Lake was the first wetland in this country to receive legal protection status and the first to achieve international recognition due to its rich bird life. The property was designated Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1975.

It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve List in 1977, and granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1983.

In 1989, the lake was designated as an lmportant Bird Area by BirdLife International. In 1993, it was included on the Montreux Record of priority sites for conservation action.

Since 1999, the property has had the status of a managed nature reserve, being exclusively State property. Management is carried out by the Environment and Water Ministry and its regional departments. 

The reserve extending over 900 ha includes Srebarna lake and the former agricultural lands north of the lake, a belt of forest plantations along the Danube, the island of Komluka, and the aquatic area between the island and the riverbank. It hosts many rare and endangered species of birds, including the Dalmatian Pelican, Pygmy Cormorant, Ferruginous Duck, White-tailed Eagle, Corncrake, Great White Egret, Little Bittern Night Heron, Glossy lbis, and Spoonbill. Some 80 other bird species seek refuge there every winter.