In 2009 the same scientists draft another letter to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat. The response is almost immediate. Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance expresses deep concerns, seeks to clarify the situation.
This appeal from an international team of conservation experts was published on many websites and helped postpone the start of construction on the Hailaer/Argun River –Dalai Lake Water Diversion Canal for 1.5 years.
We are writing to call your attention to the construction of a water diversion project underway in the critical Daurian wetland area, and to request your immediate action to, at the very least, delay this project until an adequate environmental impact assessment is conducted and the results discussed internationally.