Project to conserve Gangetic Dolphin gets nod

Context: A project for the conservation of the Ganga River
Dolphin and another for assessing the environmental flow of the Chambal, Son, Damodar
and Tons rivers were approved at the 58th Executive Committee meeting of the
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on Thursday. The project will focus on
raising awareness for dolphin conservation and com- munity capacity building through
training and have an estimated budget of Rs 1 crore. The project will involve studying
the existing water stream and natural flow patterns, which will not only improve
water quantity and quality but also document the biodiversity within these
river systems, ensuring that their ecosystems remain balanced.

Key points

·      
Overview: The Ganga River Dolphin project titled ‘Advancing
Rescue System for the Protection of Stranded Ganges River Dolphins’ aims to
develop a specialised rescue vehicle, the ‘Dolphin Ambulance’, to assist
dolphins in distress.

·      
Ganga River
Dolphin: The Ganga River Dolphin
(Platanista gangetica), also known as the “Tiger of the Ganges” was officially
discovered in 1801.

Habitat - Ganges
River dolphins historically distributed in major river systems
(Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu) of India, Nepal and
Bangladesh.

Features - The Ganges River dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially
blind. They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off fish and
other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind. They are frequently
found alone or in small groups, and generally a mother and calf travel
together.

·      
Importance: They have significant importance because it is a
reliable indicator of the health of the entire river ecosystem. The government
of India declared it the National Aquatic Animal in 2009. It is also the State
Aquatic Animal of Assam.

·      
Major
Threats: Unintentional killing through
entanglement in fishing gear. Poaching for dolphin oil, used as fish attractant
and for medicinal purposes. Habitat destruction due to development projects
(e.g. water extraction and the construction of barrages, high dams and
embankments), pollution (industrial waste and pesticides, municipal sewage
discharge and noise from vessel traffic).

·      
Protection
Status: International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Endangered, Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972:
Schedule I, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):
Appendix I, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix 1

·      
Related
Government Initiatives: Project
Dolphin - The initiative got in-principal approval in 2019 at the first
meeting of the National Ganga Council (NGC), headed by the Prime Minister. Project
Dolphin is one of the activities planned under Arth Ganga, an ambitious
inter-ministerial initiative of the government approved in 2019.

Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary has been
established in Bihar.

National Ganga River Dolphin Day (5th October)