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Building with reed
Exporting reed as a building material to the countries of Western Europe is an expand-
ing business in Ukraine. About 10 enterprises in the Vilkovo region do business by
harvesting and exporting reed. In 2012 alone, about 13,460 tons of reed per year were
collected from 3,500 hectares of fooded areas. The business is very important for the
locals, the companies in Vilkovo involving about 1,150 people, in other words almost
one-sixth of the total population of the town. But these businesses also create, on the
whole, an average of 1,000-2,000 tons of waste reed per year, a resource yet to be used.
But what if we could heat up homes using this waste?
Biomass
Reed briquettes instead of coal
Heating homes in the Danube Delta and adapting to climate change
The Danube Delta is known for having the widest compact area of reeds in Europe,
a valuable asset when it comes to cope with climate change, though still not used to
its full potential.
1000 tones
BRIQUETTES FROM WASTE REED
WILL BE PRODUCED PER YEAR IN
VILKOVO, DANUBE DELTA
2014
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Heating homes with waste reed briquettes
Through the Climate proofng the Danube Delta through integrated land and water man-
agement we wanted to help communities beneft from this opportunity so far ignored.
Given the lack of production of reed waste briquettes in Vilkovo a local green business
scheme was set up, to use the available reed waste and transform it into raw material.
The briquettes, produced on the briquetting line owned by the Municipal enterprise
Zmiinyi, will be used for heating the local public building instead of using coal in the
new boiler installed also through the above mentioned project. The action reduced costs
for heating arising from the use of fossil fuels, but has an impact on protecting the Delta
and promoting the ecological restoration of wetlands. Green energy generated from reed
briquettes contributes to reducing the carbon footprint in the selected pilot areas, since
biomass can successfully replace coal.
Furthermore it is planned that Danube Biosphere Reserve will provide verifcation that
the entire amount of reed is harvested according to the established methodology and
legislation regarding nature conservation.
The strategy implemented in the pilot area of Vilkovo shows how the community and the area
can adapt in a natural way to climate change. Using reed as a biomass source and restoring wet-
lands in the Danube Delta to have more space for reed, the source of green energy, also creates
new opportunities for local people and entrepreneurs interested in sustaining their livelihoods.

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This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are
the sole responsibility of WWF and can in no way be taken to refect the views of the European Union.
Why we are here
To stop the degradation of the planets natural environment and
to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
The business scheme set up during the project implementation referring to the use of waste reed as a
source for producing briquettes in Vilkovo (settlement in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta)
Ensure the application of
conservation rules in reed
harvesting activities
Danube
Biosphere
Reserve
Commercial companies
providing waste reed
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Local population
Boiler house
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Vilkovo Municipality
Investments to modernization of
infrastructure in Vilkovo (new boilers,
thermal renovation of buildings, etc)
Payment
for coal
Coal suppliers
Heating the public buildings
(Boiler house)
Municipal Enterprise Zmiinyi
(Production line of briquettes)
Production line
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Supplier of briquetting
production line
Supplier of
boiler house
Payment for
equipment EU FUNDS
IMPLEMENTATION STAGE
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