Wild Red-crowned Crane populations are in sharp decline in mainland Asia, currently hovering at about 1,200 birds. In contrast, the number of cranes gathering in the Argun River floodplain in the Dauria State Biosphere Reserve rose sharply, just as habitat conditions in Middle Amur deteriorated.

Scientific report by Igor Glushkov and other Russian scientists, presented at the “Desertification in Dauria” conference in October 2008, illustrates that the Argun River and Dalai Lake wetlands are equally vulnerable to drought. Thus, the principal justification for building the Hailaer-Dalai Water Transfer Canal is fatally flawed.

Experts call for discussion on how to increase climate resilience of local communities which were once fairly adapted to regular climate cycles. The article argues that local knowledge should be examined to design a “new” adaptation strategy and case studies should be developed around already emerging hot-spots like at the unilateral water-transfer projects in the […]

The China Crane News Bulletin published Oleg Goroshko’s article on endangered birds of the Argun-Erguna River. The Argun is an important habitat for many Eurasian and Australasian wetland birds, including endangered species like the Red-crowned Crane, Swan Goose, and Great Bustard. Rapid development in local human communities is puts increasing pressure on the region’s and […]

This background paper analyses the possible impacts of the Hailaer Dalai Water Transfer Project on Argun/Erguna Midflow wetlands and accounts for other infrastructure development policies in the region that will have a cumulative effect on these ecosystems. It is a part of the midterm Argun/Erguna Midflow Bird Conservation Project report submitted in January 2008. The […]

Recognizing the urgent need to expand and unite the fragmented territories within the Dauria International Protected Area (DIPA), experts from DIPA prepared a blueprint for expansion with support from three conservation organizations and submitted the plan to DIPA governing agencies.

At the 2007 Riversymposium in Brisbane, Australia, a student conservation group presented a comprehensive report on the Argun/Erguna River Wetlands that drew international attention to many threats, particularly the Hailaer-Dalai Water Transfer project.

The Siberian Crane Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was the first MoU developed under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species (1979). The document was approved on 1 July 1993 and revised on 1 January 1999. Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane was signed in Kazakhstan on 15 […]

In November 1994 a team from Greenpeace Sweden visited the Krasnokamensk region in Eastern Siberia, in order to document the alleged environmental problems associated with uranium production in Russia.  The following is a report on this visit.
INTRODUCTION
This research trip is part of a larger campaign conducted by GP Sweden to document the environmental […]