India to undertake Ganges River dolphin survey
According to reports in the Straits Times, the Indian government is to undertake the first official count of Ganges River dolphin in the Ganges River.
The survey will be carried during the drier winter months as the government commits to trying to improve the health of the river. Pollution is a major issue while habitat loss and poaching are also threat to the dolphins. The announcement comes days after it was revealed that the remaining Ganges dolphins in Nepal may be less than 30 individuals.
WDC comments: Although we commend the Indian Government for initiating this survey it is not “comprehensive” as they imply. Although the Ganges River will be surveyed they are NOT surveying the Brahmaputra River where a substantial number of dolphins are found and to leave this section out of the survey will not therefore give accurate or reliable figures as to the abundance of river dolphins in India. So yes …. Good news but they could do better!
WDC has been involved in several cetacean conservation projects in India over the last twenty-five years.
