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17 Mar 2022 Project Dolphin

Posted at 14:57h in Daily current-affairs by khyati khare 0 Comments

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Recently the Ministry of Jal Shakti has expressed displeasure over the slow pace of the approval process for ‘Project Dolphin’.

This initiative got in-principle approval in the first meeting of the National Ganga Council (NGC) chaired by the Prime Minister in the year 2019.
‘Project Dolphin’ is one of the planned activities under ‘Arth Ganga’, an ambitious inter-ministerial initiative of the government approved in the year 2019.
‘Project Dolphin’ has been started on the lines of Project Tiger, it is to be known that the purpose of ‘Project Tiger’ is to help increase the population of tigers.
It has been implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
There is a need to start a special conservation program for the Ganges dolphin, which is a national aquatic animal and is also an indicator species for the wider Ganges River in many states.
Indicator species are often microorganisms or plants, which serve as a measure of the environmental conditions present in a specific area.
Since the Ganges dolphin is at the top of the food chain, protecting the species and its habitat will ensure conservation of the river’s aquatic life.
So far, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), which implements the flagship scheme of the government, Namami Gange, is taking initiatives to save the dolphins.

Scientific name: Platanista gangetica
Discovery: It was officially discovered in the year 1801.
Habitat: They live in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India and Bangladesh.
The Ganges river dolphin can only live in fresh water and is virtually blind.
They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounce back when struck by fish and other prey and enable them to “see” an image in their brains. They are also called ‘Susu’.
Population: The global population of this species is estimated at 4,000 and about 80% of these are found in the Indian subcontinent.

Unwanted Prey: Like people, these dolphins prefer to live in areas of the river where fish are plentiful and the water flow is slow.
Due to this people get less fish and the Ganges Dolphin, also known as bycatch, dies due to accidentally getting caught in fishing nets.
Pollution: Industrial, agricultural and human pollution is another serious cause of degradation of their natural habitat.
Dams: The construction of dams and other irrigation related projects makes them vulnerable to inbreeding as well as other hazards as they cannot move to other areas due to such construction.
Heavy pollution downstream of a dam, increased fishing activities and ship traffic pose a threat to dolphins. This also results in a lack of food for them as the dam affects the migration, reproductive cycle and habitat of fish and other prey.

Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule-I
IUCN Red List: Endangered
‘Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’ (CITES): Appendix-I
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wildlife (CMS): Appendix II (migratory species that need protection and management or that would benefit greatly from international cooperation).

National Dolphin Research Center (NDRC): NDRC is being set up on a plot of land of 4,400 square meters in the campus of Patna University for the conservation of the endangered Ganges River Dolphin.
Dolphin Sanctuary: Vikramshila Ganga Dolphin Sanctuary has been established in Bhagalpur district of Bihar.
National Ganga Dolphin Day: Every year 5 October is celebrated as Ganga Dolphin Day by the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
Conservation plan: ‘Ganga Dolphin Conservation Action Plan 2010-2020’ is one of the conservation efforts of Ganga Dolphin, under it as the major threats to the Ganges Dolphin and their population due to lack of river traffic, irrigation canals and hunting etc.