About 40 groups including WWF - gathered in Kiev for a forum - called for an end to the use of the canal.

They also in a resolution called for Ukraine to carry out "an ecological and independent expert study of the Danube Delta."

The building of the canal which is due for completion next year was "carried out in a dangerous way for the environment", the resolution said.

Passport holders have sent thousands of faxes to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Viktor Fedorovich Janukovich, expressing their deep concern about the Bystroye Canal in the Ukrainian Danube Delta.

The canal has already prompted objections from the European Union, Romania and the United States.

Romania bitterly protested the building of the canal on its border without even the courtesy of an environmental impact study.

Environmentalists have complained that it threatens rare fauna and flora in the Danube Delta reserve, which is shared by Ukraine and Romania.

Inaugurated on August 26, the Bystroe canal gives Ukraine waterway access to the Black Sea from the Danube.

The Danube Delta is a protected area under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. This huge wetland - found where the Danube river drains into the Black Sea - is a UNESCO world heritage site, home to more than 280 bird species.

We'll be keeping up the pressure on this campaign, but are closing the e-action. We'll keep you posted and if your help is needed again we'll let you know.

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