Dolphin Conservation: Experts pitch commission between India, Nepal, Bangladesh & Myanmar

In the backdrop of, Freshwater Dolphin Day 2020, a webinar on “Celebration of International Freshwater Dolphin day for Enhancing Conservation of river dolphins” was organised on Tuesday.

B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI shared an update on the initiatives like Ganga Utsav and river ranching program started under the aegis of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to engage communities not just in Dolphin conservation but overall river rejuvenation and environment protection. 

Highlighting the importance of collaboration, Dr. J.K. Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science), ICAR said, “Not only Dolphins but many other aquatic animals are endangered and the situation is similar in almost all south Asian countries. Therefore, it is important for countries to join hands in conservation efforts.” Dr. B. C. Choudhury, Former Principal Scientist, Wild Life Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand emphasized the importance of collaboration and exchange of information among the scientific community.

Interesting case studies on the conservations of freshwater Dolphins were presented at the event, which included Ganga River Case Study for Ganga River Dolphin by Dr. Ruchi Bodala, Senior Scientist, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Chilika Case Study on Irrawaddy dolphin by Dr. Ajit Pattnaik, Vice-President, Wetlands International South Asia, Beas River Case Study on Indus River dolphin by Suresh Babu, Director, World Wide Fund for Nature India, Case study of river dolphins in Bangladesh rivers by Dr. Syed Istiak, Director, Deep Sea Fishes Ltd. & ASAP Healthy Food Ltd., Bangladesh, Case study of dolphin in Nepalese rivers by Dr. Madhav Pantha, Former Director of Fisheries, Department of Fisheries, Nepal, Case study of Irrawaddy dolphin in Myanmar river by Dr. Htun Thein, Dy. Director, Marine Resource Survey and Research Unit Department of Fisheries, Myanmar and Case studies of Ganga river dolphin by Dr. Sandeep Behera, Consultant, NMCG, India.

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG while explaining the uniqueness of freshwater Dolphins which are found only in Asian rivers and few South American rivers proposed four main areas to focus on for Dolphin conservation. i.e. Techno-scientific aspects, Capacity building, Community involvement, and Policy interventions. “Building inter-Governmental networking among India-Bangladesh- Nepal and Myanmar for Dolphin conservation is needed,” he said. 

The discussion concluded with robust twelve-point suggestions which included - Hydrological restoration from pollution, Dolphin watch protocol to be developed for tourism, creation of sanctuaries or conservation reserves. Experts also felt a strong need to develop a transboundary commission between India- Nepal, and Bangladesh.  

Ten years after Gangetic Dolphins were declared national aquatic animals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15 announced a conservation project for the species. The 'Project Dolphin' aims to give a stronger impetus for conservation of the aquatic mammals in the lines of 'Project Tiger' and 'Project Elephant'. According to the environment ministry, the project envisages to address conservation concerns and empower the stakeholders such as the river-dependent population in reducing the pollution and allowing sustainable fishery and river-based other livelihood options through scientifically oriented conservation methods.

The Gangetic river dolphin is a species of freshwater dolphins primarily found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. In India, these dolphins are sighted in long deep river reaches in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. There are around,3700 Gangetic River Dolphins in Indian river systems, according to official figures. They were declared National Aquatic Species in 2010.

(With inputs from agencies)