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Gangetic dolphin is National Aquatic Animal
New Delhi: The docile, friendly and graceful Ganges River Dolphin is now India’s National Aquatic Animal. The Centre on Monday accepted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s request for according the endangered species this status. The Ganges River Dolphin is an endemic species of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna river systems, extending from the foot of the Himalayas to the tidal zone in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
The return of the dolphin in increasing numbers in the Ganga would be the "one and only yardstick" to gauge the success of the Rs 15,000-crore ‘Mission Clean Ganga’ project, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh said here on Monday. Dolphins do not respond to captive breeding.
"The presence of dolphins in a river is symbolic of a healthy ecosystem. The fresh-water dolphin, found in the rivers originating from the Himalayas, is only one of its kind besides those in the Amazon river in South America," Dr RK Sinha, an internationally-renowned Patna-based expert on dolphins who is also popular as ‘Dolphin Sinha’ by virtue of decades of work on the species, told The Pioneer.
Sinha, who is also a member of the National Ganga River Basin Authority, said India currently has around 2,300 dolphins. "There’s no database to ascertain their numbers earlier. The first dolphin distribution map was made by John Anderson in 1879. In fact, dolphins were found in the Yamuna too even in April-May in Delhi," he said, adding that according the National Aquatic Animal status would surely help conserve the endangered species.
When salmons made a comeback in the Thames, it received worldwide attention. If dolphins return to Ganga river, it also would attract global attention, Sinha said.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Ganges River Dolphin is in grave danger of extinction with its population declining rapidly at a rate of 10 per cent annually.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer; October 6, 2009)
(URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/207148/Gangetic-dolphin-is-National-Aquatic-Animal.html )
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Endangered dolphins made national aquatic animal
New Delhi: Alarmed over the sharp drop in the number of freshwater dolphins surviving in river systems across the country, the Manmohan Singh
government, acting on a proposal made by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, on Monday declared dolphins as a national aquatic animal.
The animal has been declared as a ‘highly endangered’ the ICUN and Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act (1972), Government of India.
Their numbers has now shrunk to less than 2,000 now, setting alarm bells ringing in the wildlife camp. The Ganges River Dolphin is, according to Mr Parikshit Gautam, director of WWF-India’s freshwater and wetland programme, a flagship specie, meaning that their strength in river system would indicate its health. The freshwater dolphin, a blind species, is mainly found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems in India. Construction of dams and barrages, increase in pollution-levels, indiscriminate fishing, the dreadful prospect of the mammal getting entangled in nets — all these factors have contributed to a reduction in their numbers in two river systems.
In the Ganges, the dolphin, according to Mr Gautam, is found primarily in the Bijnore-Narora section in Uttar Pradesh and the Vikramshila sanctuary in Bihar. Thanks to greater involvement of the community and stakeholders and application of modern technology, WWF-India has been able to save these mammals from getting depleted. It was only on September 25 that WWF-India’s Narora Field team along with the state forest department had rescued a Ganges River Dolphin 3 km downstream of Narora barrage in Bulandshahar district, and put it in the safe habitat — upstream the Narora Barrage.
A recent census undertaken by WWF-India team estimated that there were 53 dolphins in this stretch of the Ganges, which has more than doubled since 1996 when WWF-India initiated this project. With the Centre declaring it as a national animal, hopes that more steps would be taken to protect them have soared. "Like we have tiger as a national animal and peacock as a national bird, we have declared dolphins as a national aquatic animal as it represents the health of the rivers, particularly Ganga in the country,’’ union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh told newspersons here this afternoon.
He said the decision was taken at the first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to streamline steps to rejuvenate Ganga. ``Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had proposed naming dolphins as national aquatic animal at the meeting which was approved by the authority,’’ Mr Ramesh said.
By declaring dolphins as a national aquatic animal, the government was, according to Mr Ramesh, not only ensuring the survival of the species, which were endemic to river Ganga, but also seeking cleansing of the river. Just as the big cat was a symbol of ecosystem in forests, the presence of river dolphin in a river system, the Union minister, too signified a healthy aquatic life in freshwater of rivers. "Since the river dolphin is at the apex of the aquatic food chain, its presence in adequate numbers symbolises greater bio-diversity in the river system," the minister added.
(Courtesy: The Economic Times; October 6, 2009)
(URL: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Endangered-dolphins-made-national-aquatic-animal/articleshow/5092286.cms )
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