Where Waters Breathe | Danube Delta – Romania | Documentary
What happens when water disappears from one of Europe’s wildest deltas?
In this episode of “Where Waters Breathe”, we journey into the Danube Delta, a shifting mosaic of water, reeds and communities where restoration, tradition and climate resilience meet.
The Danube Delta is Europe’s second-largest delta and one of the world’s best-preserved wetland systems. Stretching across 5,800 km² of channels, lakes, reed beds and marshes, it hosts more than 5,000 species and forms one of the continent’s richest biodiversity hotspots.
In this episode, fishermen, scientists, foresters and local entrepreneurs share their perspectives on how the Delta has changed over recent decades. From communist-era land reclamation and agricultural systematisation to more recent restoration initiatives, the landscape has continuously shifted between natural dynamics and human intervention.
The film explores how past agricultural systematisation altered large wetland areas, transforming parts of the Delta into arid farmland. Today, ecological reconstruction projects aim to restore water circulation, reopen canals and improve habitat quality, benefiting fish reproduction, bird nesting areas and local livelihoods.
As a sanctuary along the East Atlantic Flyway, the Delta hosts hundreds of migratory bird species, including Dalmatian pelicans and white-tailed eagles. Fishing, reed harvesting and eco-tourism remain deeply intertwined with this wetland system, demonstrating how culture and biodiversity are inseparable in the Delta’s identity.
Despite its resilience, the Danube Delta faces growing pressures from pollution, invasive species, plastic contamination and climate-driven warming. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar wetland, the Danube Delta is also a key research site within RESTORE4Cs. Researchers conducted seasonal field campaigns measuring carbon storage and greenhouse gas fluxes – CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O – across preserved, altered and restored wetlands. These data feed predictive models assessing how restoration can strengthen the Delta’s function as a carbon sink while enhancing climate resilience.
Ultimately, the episode highlights a simple but powerful message echoed by local communities: water is the foundation of everything. Without healthy water circulation, biodiversity declines, fisheries suffer and tourism falters. In the Danube Delta, restoration is not only about conservation: it is about securing a future where nature, culture and climate adaptation move forward together.
“Where Waters Breathe” is a visually rich documentary series that takes audiences to the living edge of Europe, where land, water, people, and climate meet. Developed within the EU-funded RESTORE4Cs project, this six-episode series journeys across some of Europe’s most emblematic coastal wetlands. From the Valencian Wetlands and the Camargue in the Mediterranean, to the Ria de Aveiro and the South-West Dutch Delta along the Atlantic coast, and onward to the Curonian Lagoon in the Baltic Sea and the Danube Delta in the Black Sea, each episode focuses on one RESTORE4Cs Case Pilot. Together, they showcase wetlands in different states of preservation, from well-conserved to heavily altered, and the diverse restoration solutions being tested and implemented across Europe.
Follow RESTORE4Cs’ Where Waters Breathe:
Website: https://www.restore4cs.eu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/restore4c
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/restore4cs.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restore4cs/
