Srebarna Biosphere Reserve (Bulgaria)
The Committee was concerned to note that the water quality and balance in this small World Heritage site (600 ha) has deteriorated to such an extent that the site is no longer ecologically viable; large colonies of water birds, except for the Dalmation Pelican, are absent, and many of the passerine species have emigrated or occur only in low numbers. The Committee recognized that most problems were attributable to the slow drying of the lake bed, exacerbated by upstream development projects, impacts of nearby pig farms and a rise in the wild boar population. The Committee, while awaiting the results of a joint Ramsar/World Heritage field mission to assess whether the site still meets criterion (iv), recommended that the Secretariat request the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment to nominate this site to the List of World Heritage in Danger.