Mekong River Dolphins on the verge of Extinction!

[Guest guest]

The use of pesticides in agriculture, as we all know, is quiet rampant

throughout. So much so that the villagers/farmers, oblivious or perhaps ignorant

of the consequences, use some of the prohibited pesticides like

diclofenac/DDT/PCB. Surprisingly, these banned generic drugs are still made

available to the villagers/farmers, discreetly, by the block officers and local

pesticide stores.

 

What the South-East Asia is facing with the dolphins, India is facing with the

Vultures here, that are the victims of the prevalent use of diclofenac in

farming. Sometime back, the Center of Science & Environment (CSE) undertook the

study of the eating habits of the Vultures around Delhi & UP. The study revealed

high doses of deadly chemicals like DDT/Aldrin/Dieldrin and BHC.

 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) are synthetic chemical compounds consisting of

chlorine, carbon and hydrogen. PCB's belong to a family of organic compounds

known as chlorinated hydrocarbons and can be found as a clear to yellow oily

liquid or waxy solid. The 1976 Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) prohibited any

further manufacture and use of PCBs. So why is the govt there allowing its use

at the cost of such major loss???? And if it's production is banned then from

where are these farmers/villagers procuring it????

 

Inbreeding does happen in Dolphins but it's generally found in isolated and

fragmented dolphins, and it renders them as more vulnerable to diseases; as was

the case with the Indus Dolphins in 2001 and the Mediterranean Striped Dolphins

between 1990 – 1992.

 

Warm Regards

Radhika Singh

 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/Earth/Flora--Fauna/Mekong-riv\

er-dolphins-on-verge-of-extinction-WWF-/articleshow/4671586.cms

 

Mekong river dolphins on verge of extinction: WWF

18 Jun 2009, 1626 hrs IST, PTI

 

 

TOKYO: Dolphins living in parts of the Mekong River between Cambodia and Laos

are on the brink of extinction due to pollution, international

 

conservationist group WWF warned in a report.

 

Inhabiting a 190-kilometer stretch of the river, the Irrawaddy dolphin

population has suffered 88 deaths since 2003, of which 58 were calves under 2

weeks old, bringing the latest population to an estimated 64 to 76 members, the

World Wide Fund for Nature said.

 

WWF researchers found high toxic levels of pesticides such as DDT and

environmental contaminants such as PCBs alongwith mercury in an analysis of 21

dead dolphins retrieved between 2004 and 2006.

 

Of the 11 dead dolphins recovered in 2007, 10 died of tumors and while rest were

infected with bacteria, WWF found.

 

A bacterial disease was identified to be the cause of the calf deaths but it

" would not be fatal unless the dolphin's immune systems were suppressed, as in

these case, by environmental contaminants, " report author and veterinarian Verne

Dove with WWF Cambodia was quoted as saying.

 

Another factor identified for the dolphin deaths was their limited genetic

diversity due to inbreeding in an isolated habitat.