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ASIA: Alarm Sounded for River Dolphins |
| March 29, 2005 |
 | A Ganges River dolphin, locally called shushuk in Bangladesh, surfaces in the Karnaphuli River.
Photo: Brian D. Smith |
On March 21, World Water Day, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched an appeal for a concerted effort to save Asian river dolphins. According to the conservation organization, all Asian river dolphin populations are severely threatened by dams, accidental entanglement in fishing gear, industrial and agricultural pollution, and human sewage.
Troubling levels of numerous toxic chemicals have been detected in river dolphin populations – indications of the poor quality of water also used by several human communities. For these reasons, WWF requests that governing authorities, environmental groups and local communities join efforts to protect local biodiversity and thus ensure good water quality.
River dolphins inhabit some of the planet's most densely populated river basins, such as India’s Ganges River and Pakistan’s Indus River, where one tenth of humanity resides. According to WWF estimates, the Yangtze river dolphin, also known as the baiji, is especially threatened: only 18 individuals remain in the Yangtze, China's largest river. Furthermore, there are fewer than 2,000 Ganges river dolphins along a 6,000-km stretch of river, fewer than 2,000 Irrawaddy dolphins in various salt- and freshwater habitats in Asia and the Pacific Ocean, and no more than 1,100 Indus dolphins left in Pakistan.
Through the WWF River Dolphin Conservation initiative, WWF-India has been working for over 10 years with various communities that live along the Ganges River to improve water quality. Communities are encouraged to not use soaps and detergents in the river, to use natural instead of chemical fertilizers and to improve their sanitary systems. While most local communities initially opposed these initiatives in the early 1990s, 90 percent of the inhabitants now support them and perceive their associated economic benefits.
According to WWF, efforts are paying off. The number of dolphins present in one 165-km long section of the Ganges River increased from 22 to 42 over a decade. People in charge of the recovery project hope that these positive results will encourage other communities to initiate their own projects.
Apart from the four Asian species, a fifth species exists in South America: the Amazon river dolphin, or boto. No population estimates are presently available for this species that is threatened by the drying up of certain portions of its habitat, the construction of hydroelectric dams, accidental entanglement in fishing gear and poaching. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has classified the Amazon river dolphin a "Vulnerable" species, the Ganges and Indus river dolphins as "Endangered" and the Yangtze river dolphin as "Critically Endangered." As for the Irrawaddy dolphin, IUCN specialists consider that there is not enough information to make an assessment.
Source: Whales Online
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