Why in the News?

• The Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech announced Project Dolphin.
• Project Dolphin will be a 10-year project in the similar lines of Project Tiger and Project elephant.
• The idea is to increase the population of Gangetic Dolphins across the Ganga  and other rivers.
• The details of the project are yet to be published by the government.

Gangetic Dolphin

• It is the National Aquatic animal of India. According to IUCN, it is listed as endangered species.
• According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change about 1,272 dolphins are present in Uttar Pradesh and 962 in Assam.
• Ganges river dolphins once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. But the species is extinct from most of its early distribution ranges.
• The distribution range of the Ganges river dolphins in India covers seven states namely, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind. They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind (echolocation).
• October 5th is celebrated as National Ganga River Dolphin Day.

Why is it important to conserve this species?

• Being on the top of the aquatic food chain, the species is an indicator species of the well being of the rivers. They point at healthy river ecosystems and are the prime species indicating the conservation status of the river systems.
• Once upon a time this species was spread across the ganga river from the himalayas to the Ganga delta, but due to constructions of dams and immense pollution in the river, the dolphins are declining rapidly.
• By protecting this species and its habitat ensures conservation of aquatic lives of the river.

What are the previous steps taken by the government to conserve the Gangetic Dolphin?

• Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary was established in Bihar under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to conserve this species. This species is under Schedule I of this act, which restricts its hunting and trade.
• The government also prepared the Conservation Action Plan for the Ganges River Dolphin 2010-2020.

Way Forward

• There have been many examples where conservation programmes have revived aquatic health such as the Rhine river and Salmon fish project.
• Taking them as examples the government should push for the revival of the Ganga and other aquatic systems.

References:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/project-dolphin-why-it-is-important-to-save-a-declining-river-species-6583544/
2. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/ganges-river-dolphin