All protected species disappeared along with the lake, which was a natural liman of the Buzău River.
The reasons for the loss of this protected area are both the multiyear drought and the consistently poor administration by the authorities under the Environment Ministry, which hoped year after year for abundant rain and snow and failed to maintain Lake Amara’s direct connection with the Buzău River, its main water supply.
The reserve was crucial because it hosted important populations of protected bird species and was a wintering site for migratory birds. The former expanse of water lay on the immense main bird migration corridor that starts in the wetlands of the 1000 lakes of northern Europe and reaches, after around 5000 km, into the heart of Africa, near Lake Tanganyika.
Lake Amara was declared a nature reserve by Decision No. 13/23.06.1995 of Buzău County Council. Its status was reinforced by Law No. 5/2000 approving the National Spatial Planning Plan, Section III – Protected Areas. Before disappearing, it occupied an area of 803 ha and had a perimeter of around 11800 ha.
With accession to the EU in 2007, two sites of European importance were also designated at Lake Amara to protect and conserve the continental salt-meadow habitat, a priority under the Habitats Directive – 92/43/EEC, and restore to favourable conservation status the specific habitats designated for protecting wild migratory bird species.
