(IN): Endangered river dolphin

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Link: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=aug0108/edit

 

*EDITORIAL*

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*MESSAGE FOR TODAY

There are two things for which animals are to be envied: they know nothng of

future evils or of what people say about them.

— voltaire

 

Endangered river dolphin

 

***Human interference has altered for worse eco-systems in every corner of

the globe. Ironically, scientific developments have hastened its deleterious

impact, with faunal and floral species bearing the brunt of man's rapacity

and capacity to destroy. The number of endangered species in the Red Data

Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources has increased each year. Nowhere is this as tellingly visible as

in Assam, once described by naturalists as a paradise for wild-life. Being a

region with a high number of aquatic bodies, with the mighty Brahmaputra and

its numerous tributaries at the core, Assam was once rich in aquatic life.

The gharial, or freshwater crocodile, had been abundant in rivers and swampy

shallows. Rivers teemed with turtles as late as the first half of the

twentieth century, authors such as Lakshminath Bezbaruah testifying to their

abundance in writing. Equally ubiquitous had been the Gangetic river

dolphin, locally known as the sihu. There are graphic accounts by

steamer-travellers in the past of a host of these playful and friendly

creatures frolicking by the side of a vessel as it made its way across the

Brahmaputra. Unfortunately a number of causes, including poaching for its

oil, entanglement in fishermen's nets, human over-exploitation of rivers

etc. have caused the number of this species to dwindle alarmingly. Latest

figures estimate their number in Assam to be merely 265, with 212 in the

Brahmaputra, 30 in Kulsi and 23 in Subansiri.

 

This dismal scenario entails that a concerted effort be made towards

conserving the river dolphin and organisations such as Aaranyak have to be

lauded for their role in such an endeavour. Due to their conservation work,

the number of this species in Assam has reportedly shown a marginal increase

from 250 in 2005. The low intensity of the increase is not surprising,

dolphins being mammals and thus with longer gestation period. Moreover,

conservation of an aquatic species is fraught with difficulties not

associated with land-based species. Rivers being free-flowing, aquatic

animals are not sedentary and cannot be confined to protected reserves. The

sole recourse for conservation agencies is to raise the level of awareness

among people around habitats as to the possibility of species extinction.

That Aaranyak has developed a network of community-based volunteers in

dolphin inhabited areas is a right step in this direction. Equally important

is that man-induced interference in the habitats of aquatic species like the

river dolphin be kept to a minimum, mega hydro-electrical projects being a

major culprit in destroying aquatic fauna. The proposed seismic survey of

the Brahmaputra river bed by Oil India Limited is another case in point.

Because of inadequate precedents, it is imperative that an impact assessment

study, particularly on forms of aquatic life such as the Gangetic river

dolphin, be embarked upon before such an operation is launched.

 

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