The Dragomansko Blato (Dragoman Marshland) Karst complex found not far from Sofia was awarded with a certificate for a wetland of international importance complying with the requirements of the Ramsar Convention. The complex is Bulgaria’s 11th wetland on the list under that convention defending the world’s few wetlands that are of great importance to the preservation of biodiversity and climate balance. If today we pay special attention to the Dragoman Karst complex this is because Karst marshlands in the world represent a big rarity and this new Bulgarian zone on the Ramsar List is the largest in this country. With an area of close to 15,000 ha it accounts for more than one-third of the area of all wetlands in Bulgaria.

The history of this site is both curious and telling. In the early 20 c. the region around the Dragoman marshland was dried up, similar to many other wetlands in the world. On the one hand this was done to eliminate the trouble with mosquitoes, and on the other, it was after the acquisition of arable land and new options for irrigation. Found some 40 km to the West of Sofia the Dragoman Karst complex covers a large area of marshlands, wet meadows and Karst hills. In the early 20 c. it was one of the richest areas in Bulgaria in terms of biodiversity, a favorite place for fishing and rest with Sofia residents and with locals. It was too, a center of trade in eggs from wild ducks. Elderly people contend that they sometimes gathered about 20,000 such eggs annually that were sent out to the market in the capital city. After that however, marshlands disappeared from the region’s landscape for about four decades. Luckily, over the last 29 years nature has retrieved what it had lost to humans. Slowly and almost imperceptibly for the residents of the town of Dragoman and of neighboring villages, the wet meadows and marchlands reappeared. One reason was declining farming. In this way the marshlands would no longer be used for irrigation. Today the Karst complex near Lake Dragoman has seen the recovery of its rich biodiversity with some assistance from environmental groups such as Balkani Wild Nature Society.
Handing over the Ramsar Zone certificate, Deputy Minister of the Environment and Water Evdokia Maneva pointed to the diversity of the specific plant and animal species there.
„The total of 256 bird species have been watched at the Dragomansko Blato complex accounting for 65 percent of Bulgaria’s bird diversity, plus 9 amphibian species, 11 reptiles 43 mammal species and 180 higher plant species,” she said. Figures suggest that this wetland is particularly precious and we have to work hard for its preservation. This is a unique place, unique for Bulgaria, the Balkans and for the whole of Europe.”
The Dragoman marshland and the smaller marshlands in its vicinity are located on the track of the Balkan bird migratory route known as Via Aristotle. This explains the massive concentration of migratory birds there. It is also noteworthy that about half of the observed species, 126, nest in the reed. The place is a blessing for watching nesting and flying birds. Therefore, the young people from the Balkani Wild Nature Society jointly with the municipal authorities have built an eco-trail, a watching tower and wooden pile bridges providing access into the marshland and allowing bird-watching from a short distance. Over the last year alone some 1000 pupils from Sofia and other towns in the region, have visited the Dragomansko Blato area.
„Walking in the marshlands and watching various animals and plants virtually exalt present-day kids who are increasingly isolated from wild nature”, Andrey Ralev from Balkani Wild Nature Society said. He is the leader of the project for the retrieval of the wetland.
“Some plants that could have disappeared have already been retrieved, and we work to retrieve others too. For instance, the waterwheel plant is one of them. We have retrieved it by taking genetic material from the Danube delta where it survives. We can achieve a lot in partnership with the local communities, and this has already been happening in fact.”
The Dragomasko Blato Karst complex spreads on the territories of three municipalities in the Sofia region – Dragoman, Slivnitsa and Kostinbrod, all three strongly committed to the project. They hope that it will assist the economic revival of the region where unemployment is about 20 percent. Cracking a joke, Dragoman mayor Andrey Ivanov says: „Let us hope that the Dragoman marshland will pull us out of the financial quagmire that we are deep into”. The development of ecological tourism is one of the trump cards of the three municipalities. The close proximity to Sofia adds to the optimism of the locals.
„For Bulgaria this is a unique nature site”, explains the deputy mayor of Kostinbrod Dimitar Petrov. “The commitment made by the Kostinbrod municipality for the part of the complex in our territory is to try to make it interesting not only for ornithologists and environmentally-minded people, but most of all for children who will be attracted for a firsthand experience with this unique place. This is where we should start – from children teaching them to love and care for nature. However we won’t do this with brochures but rather, with visits and with the development of alternative tourism. Together we shall run for European financing for the preservation of protected plants and animals. Kostinbrod Municipality has run for financing under the Cross-border Cooperation Programme and develops and project for creating a biodiversity map of the whole territory of the municipality. We are proud that we have such a unique nature site in our municipality.”
The project of the Balkani Wild Nature Society and the three municipalities accentuates the economic benefits for the region stemming from the preservation of the Karst complex. One important activity under it is making briquettes for heating from the most common plants in the marshlands – reed, rush and cane. Reed should be mowed in the winter when no nesting birds are found in the marshlands. More from Andrey Ralev:
„We already have a technology for reed mowing even on the winter ice. We held the experiments for making briquettes and we have already made some and have tested them. Our briquettes are as calorific as the wooden ones. There is a minor problem and it is that some of the plants that we use produce higher ash content. So, the technology will be better for use in larger installations – for instance for heating schools, administrative buildings etc. The rush briquettes however are as good as the wooden ones. We now work with a local company that will start production of alternative fuel from reed and rush. We very much hope to close the cycle in the buildings of neighboring towns and villages that could use for heating briquettes made in the region from reed and rush from the Dragoman marshland and the other wetlands around it.” 

Translated by Daniela Konstantinova
Photos: balkani.org