The Bastroe Channel (a.k.a. Bastroe Canal, Bystroye or Bystroe Channel, etc.) is a proposed project by Ukraine in the Danube Delta. According to official Ukrainian plans as of 2004, it should be completed in 2008. The intent is to provide a deep-water route from the Danube to the Black Sea under Ukrainian control, in order to reduce their ship transit costs. Ecologists have been raised significant concerns about damage to the Danube Delta ecosystem. [1] (http://www.vinatorul.ro/community/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=186) After the apparent failure of diplomatic efforts, the government of Romania, where most of the Danube Delta lies, is reportedly considering building a 20km canal that would absorb the Danube's water upstream of Ukraine's small piece of the river, in order to render the planned Bastroe Channel useless and thereby discourage Ukraine from attempting such a project. The Romanian canal would be designed so that it could be shut at any time, returning the river more or less to its current state. [2]  (http://www.pressreview.ro/articol.php?a=600&s=2&ss=-1) Ukraine (Україна, Ukrayina in Ukrainian; Украина in Russian) is a republic in eastern Europe which borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the Black Sea to the south. ... Northern half of the Danube Delta Satellite photo The Danube Delta (3446 km²), located in Dobrogea, Romania and in Odeska oblast, Ukraine, is the largest and best preserved of European deltas. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 is a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Danube in Budapest Length 2,888 ¹ km Elevation of the source 1,078 ² m Average discharge 30 km. ... Satellite view of the Black Sea, taken by NASA MODIS Cities of the Black Sea The Black Sea (known as the Euxine Sea in the antiquity) is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. ... Ecology can mean either: the natural environment, or an analysis or study using the principles and methods of ecological science. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a community of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms - also referred as biocenose) together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit. ... Romania (formerly spelled Rumania or Roumania; Romanian: România) is a country in southeastern Europe. ... Categories: Water-transport stubs | Canals | Water transport ...

The Danube Delta has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. The European Union has repeatedly asked Ukraine to halt the project, as has Romania and the United States. The Worldwide Fund for Nature has said the canal threatens the delta's most important wetland, where 70 percent of the world's white pelicans and 50 percent of pygmy cormorants live. Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ... The European Union or EU is an intergovernmental organisation of European countries, which currently has 25 member states. ... Romania (formerly spelled Rumania or Roumania; Romanian: România) is a country in southeastern Europe. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ... Binomial name Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus, 1758 The White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) is a member of the pelican family. ... Binomial name Phalacrocorax pygmaeus (Pallas, 1773) The Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. ...

The official inauguration of the project was scheduled for Ukrainian Independence Day August 24, 2004 but was postponed until August 26. On August 24, around 140 non-profit organisations and trade unions submitted an open letter at the Ukrainian embassy in Bucharest, Romania saying the project may endanger more than 280 bird species and 45 freshwater fish species living in the delta. "If Ukraine goes ahead with its plan ... the delta will become a fetid swamp," said a statement by one of the unions. [3]  (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24539357.htm) On August 26 Ukraine officially inaugurated the project and the Romanian government announced plans to bring a lawsuit against Ukraine at the Hague-based International Court of Justice, invoking the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. [4]  (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26420789.htm) August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Bucharest (population 2. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... In biology, a species is a kind of organism. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, the most abundant fish species in the world. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ... This article is about the city in the Netherlands; there is also a region known as (the) Hague in France. ... The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. ... The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...