Bucharest, October 6th, 2018. WWF-Romania together with Outhentic Cycling Romania have inaugurated 5 cycling routes around one of the most important natural protected areas in Călărași County: Ciocănești Danube.

Ciocănești the Danube is one of Natura 2000 protected natural areas designated by Romania for the protection of wetland species. In the last 10 years, WWF-Romania has worked with the local community to develop a series of mechanisms to help it achieve well-being while respecting the principles of a sustainable life.

On Saturday at the event hosted by the Ciocănești community, one of the 5 cycling routes that start and end at the Ciocănești Fishery Farm was tested, a route you can enjoy depending on the time you have available or the experience on two wheel. The proposed routes amount to over 550km and are designed to be tested with electric or normal bikes within 1-3 days. The farm is the place where you can borrow one of the four electric bikes available and from where you can consult and take with you the map made especially for these cycling routes.

© Corina Gheorghiu

Along these trails, you will have the opportunity to admire natural landscapes characteristic of wetlands, lakes, swamps, reeds and hundreds of protected bird species that spend their summer in our country. In addition, through the villages that link these trails you will have the opportunity to meet carpenters, craftsmen, blacksmiths, carpenters, special people who carry on crafts, in some places, that have long vanished.

Ciocănești Danube, a delta corner in Călărași

And since you've come to this area, make time for a walk along the mini-delta in the vicinity of the farm. The nature and richness of bird species attracts birdwatching lovers across the country. Ciocănești Danube is still an area where nature has the greatest rights. The presence of such a large number of birds is due both to the fishery activities in the area (ie access to food) and to the fact that there is also a protected natural area in the Bulgarian Neighbourhood, Srebarna. Here you will definitely encounter Great White and Dalmatian pelicans, great and pygmy cormorants, ferruginous ducks, grey and black-crowned night herons, or great and little egrets. In addition to these, hundreds of Eurasian/common coots, whiskered terns, swans, glossy ibises can be seen with the naked eye, and let's not forget the wonderful bridal dance of grebes.

The trails and the event were carried out within the "Local Economy and Nature Conservation in the Danube Region" (LENA) project with financial support from the European Union through the Transnational Danube Program (the successor to the Transnational Cooperation Program South-East Europe - SEE). The aim of the project is to strengthen common and integrated approaches and policies for the conservation and sustainable use of protected areas (Natura 2000) in the Danube and along the tributaries, leading to the creation of new sources of income in the area based on nature.

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For details, contacts are:

Raluca Dan, project manager WWF-Romania, rdan@wwfdcp.ro, 0730 098 718

Ioana Cenușă, communication specialist WWF-Romania, icenusa@wwfdcp.ro, 0736 098 106