Vardim Island (394)
Bulgaria, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2005
National site name: Ostrov Vardim
Central coordinates: Latitude: 43.6313, Longitude: 25.4788
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 21 to 38
Area of KBA (km2): 11.67952
Protected area coverage (%): 99.76
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: An island in the River Danube located between kilometres 576 and 560, lying opposite Vardim village, east of the town of Svistov. Alluvial forest of Quercus, Ulmus and Populus covers the eastern part of the island, while a Populus plantation covers the western part. There are also sandbars covered by seasonally flooded forest. Human activities include intensive management of the plantation, and hunting (including international hunting tourism) during the winter.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: One of the most important nesting sites in the country for Phalacrocorax carbo, Nycticorax nycticorax and Platalea leucorodia. Breeding species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Phalacrocorax pygmeus (c.20 pairs before 1989, but now extinct), Haliaeetus albicilla (1 pair before 1989, now extinct).
Habitats
Land use: forestry (78%) | hunting (100%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 95 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 5 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Problems are (1) the disturbance to nesting waterbirds caused by forestry activities near the colonies, (2) the lowered water-levels of the Danube (due to the `Iron Gate' dam in Serbia) have caused the drying-out of forest, and (3) breeding colonies have shifted outside of the protected area. The eastern part of the IBA is protected.