Clams and the low Danube. “Neama voda, neama riba”

Stefan Dorondel sent us several snapshots taken during the fieldwork in Belene (Bulgaria), images of a Danube caught in a post-apocalyptic scenario. 50m from the shore the water is no deeper than 20cm. The low waters (historical minimum depths) extend the surface of the islands and reveal the fact that the bottom of the river

Our trip to the island near the border village Pojarevo (Bulgaria)

“I like geography best, he said, because your mountains & rivers know the secret. Pay no attention to boundaries.” ― Brian Andreas, Story People Photos by / Fotografii de Ana Maria Nae.

Kikinete Island through the eyes of a local, Stefan Efimovici Petrov

The following are memories shared with us by Stefan Efimovici Petrov about Kikinete island. This is a translated version in English and Romanian of the original Bulgarian text. We aim to offer a platform for locals to show us Danubian islands through their eyes. In this, we shift power dynamics in the fieldwork, between anthropologists

Doing environmental anthropology field research in Southeast Europe. Looking at the nearness of remoteness

Fieldwork on and about Danube’s islands along the Romanian-Bulgarian border gives you a strange feeling. The islands seem to be unwanted gifts, at least for the authorities on both sides responsible for administering the Danube waters. Partly they are newly emerged territories as a result of the dynamics of a still-powerful river, albeit one that

Reigning Danube: Forests, islands, birds and people

Srebarna, a village close to Silistra town, shelters a natural park, one of the “nature’s havens on the Danube” (Sevcsik 2014).  A kingdom of lakes, backwaters, animals, birds and an endless cover of reed and forests. Although there has been an attempt of the socialist Bulgarian government to drain the area for reclaiming agricultural land