1 of 14
As the "last rower" left in one of the villages dotting Romania's Danube Delta, Iosif Acsente is all too aware of how the traditions and vistas of the region are slowly disappearing - an issue brought into sharper relief by the coronavirus pandemic.
Image Credit: AFP
2 of 14
Acsente has been plying the Delta with his wooden boat for more than four decades now from his home village of Sfantu Gheorghe.
Image Credit: AFP
3 of 14
"I know the Danube so well that if you throw me out of a helicopter I'd know where I was", says Acsente proudly. But living in a natural labyrinth, accessible only by boat, has its drawbacks.
Image Credit: AFP
4 of 14
Even though the region has been largely spared the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, residents worry that they may end up beyond the reach of necessary medical care.
Image Credit: AFP
5 of 14
"There is a good chance that it will be too late when the rescue boat arrives", says Acsente. It is only the latest challenge the modern world has thrown up for the Delta's fragile equilibrium.
Image Credit: AFP
6 of 14
Included on Unesco's World Heritage list, this natural paradise spread across 5,800 square kilometres hosts over 300 species of bird and 45 freshwater fish species.
Image Credit: AFP
7 of 14
In normal times that makes it a magnet for birdwatchers and other tourists, with locals throwing open the doors of their traditional thatched houses for visitors every summer.
Image Credit: AFP
8 of 14
But this year that vital source of income looks likely to shrink drastically in the wake of the pandemic.
Image Credit: AFP
9 of 14
The deputy mayor of Sfantu Gheorghe, Aurel Bondarencu, hopes that Romanians might make up some of the shortfall by holidaying in the Delta instead of heading abroad but that would only offer temporary relief from the region's problems.
Image Credit: AFP
10 of 14
Even "normal" tourism wasn't without its problems in the time before the virus. Fisherman Marius, 51, relies on tourists eager to discover the canals and ponds in order to make a living.
Image Credit: AFP
11 of 14
The streets may still be unpaved, covered with fine sand and framed by flower-filled gardens. But these days the roar of motor boats drowns out the gentle rippling of oars through the water.
Image Credit: AFP
12 of 14
He guides them between the swamps pointing out sights such as yellow water lilies and colonies of pelicans. But as he slows his boat to avoid disturbing a shag drying its wings in the sun, even he admits the fall in visitor numbers has "given nature some respite".
Image Credit: AFP
13 of 14
Marius says the increasing noise and pollution in the Delta are not good for the millions of migratory birds which return from Africa each spring to nest in the islets.
Image Credit: AFP
14 of 14
As for fish, the other mainstay of the inhabitants' livelihoods, that too is becoming increasingly scarce. Perhaps it's little wonder then that Sfantu Gheorghe is emptying out.
Image Credit: AFP