the most successful of all was ivan patzaichin, who was competing right up until the 1980's. he has invited everyone to a meeting at the local community center. together with an advertising agency in bucharest, he's developed an initiative for sustainable development in the danube delta. he is currently touring all the fishing villages to publicize the project and when local approval. the idea is that tradition is cool, and so is conservation. he urges the locals to preserve their houses in traditional style and to stop overfishing. he says everyone stands to benefit, but the locals complain of endless yurok per and want to know why they have to stick with thatched roofs because they are so expensive. trofimov: we just want to vent out little cottages but have to fulfill the standards of a smart hotel. we cannot do it. then big hotel chains come in from the outside. >> ivan patzaichin understands these concerns, but it's exactly because he does not want big hotel chains in the danube delta that he is encouraging the locals to get active themselves. a few kilometers downstream