The dust having not settled yet about the leak of phosgene in a distant Tsitsikar, the press brings the news about outrageous ecological violations in the city of Manchuria situated on the Russian-Chinese border.  

There the Gold Of China Corporation has begun suddenly a construction of a large water conduit to a new copper-molybdenum mine. The pipe is being laid right from the territory of biosphere reserve “The Lake Of Dalai” that is listed among international water-paludal grounds protected with Ramsar Convention. Such interference is prohibited by the law.   

The lakes and rivers of the steppe-like Dauria are the source of the natural variety where millions of swans, sandpipers and ducks stop to make a stay on their way from the tropics to Siberian tundra and where many rare species nest. The Daur steppes at the border of China, Mongolia and trans-Baikal are vulnerable ecosystems experiencing a drought period at the moment. The unique Dalai Lake (which means Big Sea) is the largest water body at the Argun River basin. However, every time there is a drought it gets shallow and becomes closed. At the time being, the valley of Argun River is suffering from drought and fires too.     

The valuable and vulnerable local ecosystems were to be protected with a unique three-sided (Russia, China and Mongolia owned) reserve “Dauria” that was created in 1994. Dalai Lake is a Chinese part of the reserve while the Daursky biosphere reserve is the Russian part.    

Last year the Russian side expressed a great concern in relation to intentions by the Chinese prefecture of Khulunber to start a transfer of water from the upper reaches of the Argun River to Dalai Lake, which is going to harm the border part of Argun and the ecosystem of the lake itself. In the course of consultations made, the Chinese ministry of water resources tried to convince the Russian colleagues that the transfer of a one third of the river’s flow means to save the ecology of the unique lake. On the other hand, the Chinese stated toughly the whole affair to be domestic. Nonetheless, the project had not been implemented and there was a hope that our neighbors had changed their mind.     

Now it turns out that they just decided to act from another direction. The local officials admit off-stage that it is planned to take much more water from Argun River’s upper reaches to the lake, and then the water conduit would not harm the lake. It appears that someone in Khulunber is going to use the new water conduit as an additional tool of pressure so that to be able to insist on unwatering of the border river. And it was chosen the good time as all the national authorities in China are dealing with consequences of the recent earthquake and they do not see the violations going on in the famous biosphere reserve.     

Taking away the water to national “stores” is extremely harmful for natural balance of the border-situated Dauria, the most fragile ecosystem that we share with China. It is only possible to save the unique rivers and lakes on the basis of well-coordinated steps taken for saving and protection of waters and adaptation of the local economic development to the sharp climatic changes. Even now the agglomeration of Manchuoli and trans-Baikal requires more water than it is possible to be taken without undermining the ecological safety of the environment. 

At the moment, the roaring excavators that are damaging the dunes in the western bank of the lake are a reminder that so far we have not reached yet proper coordination or understanding of how the local economic boom must be adjusted to resource restrictions. And the third player, Mongolia, is planning the transfer of part of Kerulen River flow, that also feeds Dalai Lake, to the mines situated in the desert of Gobi. Of course, this is also announced to be done for “bettering the ecological situation”.