New Delhi (NVI): Paving the way for regional cooperation, experts from the four nations-India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar, have come together to enhance the conservation of river dolphins in the region.
River Dolphins, a unique species found mainly in rivers of Asia and South America, are vanishing rapidly. While, the Gangetic Dolphin, the national aquatic animal of India, has been declared endangered by International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The issue of river dolphin conservation was discussed during a webinar on “Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the ecosystem health of rivers and its dolphin population: Present status and future strategy for conservation in India-Bangladesh-Myanmar-Nepal” organised by Inland Fisheries Society of India (ICAR), a Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Professional Fisheries Graduates Forum (PFGF) and Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.
The webinar began with a welcome address by BK Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI who gave a brief about the aim and objectives of this webinar. Das said that the webinar would enhance the dolphin conservation in the South East Asian Regional Countries.
JK Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science), ICAR, in his address emphasised that dolphins can thrive on their own with less disturbance and interference and that was visible during the lockdown. Jena said, “These animals do not realise boundaries and have tried to find habitat wherever possible. Hence, regional cooperation is very important in conserving them.”
Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, Namami Gange shared also his experiences on dolphin conservation linking its importance in the rejuvenation of Ganga. Continuous efforts of Namami Gange to bring dolphin conservation to national attention have resulted in the announcement of “Project Dolphin” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). This project will be in-line with “Project Tiger” which has successfully helped in increasing the tiger population.
The webinar was attended by more than 1,000 participants across the world.
The conference resolved to continue the regional and multi-sectoral collaboration. Experts say the discussion would be very helpful in developing contours of ‘Project Dolphin’ in India.
-CHK
