Bulgaria's and Romania's Ministries of Environment have signed a memorandum to expand and jointly manage protected wetland areas along their Danube border.

The plan, drafted by the WWF, is to be further reviewed by the secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on wet areas and then implemented.

Three Danube wetland areas in Bulgaria - the Ibisha Island, the Belene Islands and the Srebarna Lake - are part of the Ramsar Convention.

The plan includes adding to them nearby Romanian lakes of Bistret, Suhaia, and Calarasi.

"The goal is for Bulgaira and Romania to have the opportunity to take coordinated action for the protection of bird colonies, which are the same on both sides of the Danube," commented WWF Bulgaria's waters coordinator Ivan Hristov.

As an example, Hristov gave herons who live on Ibisha in Bulgaria and feed in Bistret in Romania, or pelicans nesting in Srebarna and feeding in Calarasi.

There will be bilateral bans on hunting, logging and commercial activities in the areas, as well as access to bird colonies during mating period.