Gangetic dolphins in India face threats despite conservation efforts

By Sweta Roy

Bhagalpur, Bihar | January 6, 2024

Yogendra Mahaldar,51, Dolphin Mitra (Dolphin rescuer) ventures into India’s only Dolphin sanctuary in Bihar almost every day with his team of eight members. Using two traditional boats and a motorboat, and carrying a tent, they try to rescue Gangetic Dolphins, one of the world’s most endangered aquatic mammals from fishermen and poachers.

Mahaldar and his team are not equipped with any of the advanced technology – such as Japanese sonar surveys, and hydrophones – to create a high-tech rescue net for Gangetic Dolphins. They belong to one of the three teams responsible for protecting around 200 dolphins in Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary located in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district.

“We use our bare hands to carry injured dolphins to the anti-poaching centre”, said Mahaldar adding that they have always relied on traditional methods to rescue gangetic dolphins.

“We were supposed to get at least modern boats, life jackets, hand gears, sensors to protect and rescue dolphins from the government but the only thing we got was an identity card.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Project Dolphin in his independent day speech 2020. The project revived the 2010 conservation action plan for Gangetic Dolphins and aimed to save oceanic and fresh water dolphins in the country. Under Project Dolphin, the Indian government promised to offer modern technologies, especially in enumeration and anti-poaching activities. 

The government also said that they will create livelihoods for communities(locals residing near Ganga whose livelihood depend on the river), and curb pollution to save one of the 22 critically endangered species in the country. Out of centre’s Rs. 100.57 crore funding to Bihar’s forest department, there no specific allocation to Out of the centre’s Rs. 100.57 crore funding to Bihar’s Forest department in 2021 -22, there was no specific allocation to Project Dolphin.

Though counted and protected, Gangetic dolphins are facing threats to existence from poachers looking to extract oil. 

“Dolphins survive in Bihar not because of the project, but due to their resilience”, said Subashish Dey, a conservationist closely associated with Wildlife Conservation Trust. Poaching remains rampant, and dol- phin oil is openly sold for “medicinal” cures, he said.

Local community members, Dolphin Mitras, and government officials in Graphic Credits: Sunil Chaudhary Bihar say the project failed to develop methods and technology for visual monitoring of Gangetic Dolphin.

Bihar’s forest department alleged they haven’t received the required funding from the central government in the last two years despite making multiple requests. On the contrary, the central government claims they haven’t received any request.

“Bihar hasn’t actively sought funds for Project Dolphin in the past four years,” said VishnuPriya Kolipakam, a scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. “Other states like

Uttar Pradesh and Assam have dived headfirst into the conservation pool, securing funds and implementing innovative technologies.”

India has the highest population of Gangetic Dolphins, compared to other countries such as China, Nepal and Bangladesh, where Ganga and its tributaries flow. About 80% of the Gangetic dolphins live across the Ganga River in India. Of the total, 1300-1400 Gangetic Dolphins are found in Bihar, according to 2021 official Bihar government data.

The population of Gangetic Dolphins in Bihar has been stable since 2008, to be sure the government has not reported the population after the 2018 survey. The unchanged numbers of dolphins have survived a decline in Ganga’s tributaries including Ghaghara that flows in Bihar.

Nachiket Kelkar, a leading river dolphin expert with the International Union for Conservation of Nature said, “The recent recoveries, if any, are temporary and can be attributed to curb on fishing in the Dolphin century and increased river flows due to climate change”.

The Bihar government claims there are about 326 Gangetic Dolphins in the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary. Experts say the population data may be far less than what the government said.

“That’s an inflated number,” said Sunil Choudhary, dolphin expert and biologist for more than two decades at T.M. Bhagalpur University. Choudhary fears that the population is lingering around 200 and needs more assessment with robust technology. India uses a sensor method to calculate Gangetic dolphins instead of counting the population with underwater microphones for an accurate number and age group.

Dey too questioned the methods to count the Gangetic dolphin population. The government data counted using manual and traditional methods, he claims, masks a static reality of around 190-200 dolphins clinging to survive.

Experts fear the condition of Gangetic dolphins is deteriorating across the country. Last year two Gangetic Dolphins were found dead. They are often hunted by poachers despite a ban by the Patna High Court in 2001. Locals say poaching is rampant and largely remains unpunished.

“There is not even a single case of poachers getting prosecuted to date on record”, said Gopal Sharma, interim in charge of the National Dolphin Research Centre, Asia’s first National Dolphin Research Centre. “The success story of the Ganga Dolphin lies in stopping the killing.”

The Gangetic dolphin is an endangered species protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Indian government. It is listed as “Endangered” by the IUCN, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

The Indian government has also included the Gangetic dolphin in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides it with the highest level of protection against hunting.

The Gangetic dolphin is one of 21 species identified under the centrally sponsored scheme, Development of Wildlife Habitat, which aims to conserve and improve the habitats of endangered and threatened species.

The Project Dolphin also fell short of delivering the promised economic benefits to the communities in the vicinity of the Vikramshila Gangetic Sanctuary region. Although certain villages, including Mahaldar’s, were provided with employment opportunities as Dolphin Mitras, the workers in these areas experienced delays in receiving their salaries.

Nago Mahaldar, another Dolphin Mitra, says he is looking for another job where he can earn a daily wage of Rs 400 to Rs 500. “How can we protect dolphins when our own families are starving?” Nago said. The last time Bhagalpur’s Dolphin Mitra team received salary was in August 2023, according to eight Dolphin Mitras.

Environmentalists and policy experts say the government needs to raise awareness and incentivise local communities for Project Dolphin to be successful. The government should create alternative sources of income such by creating new ponds so that the fishermen community can earn a living. Skill development programs will also help address the threats to Gangetic Dolphins, Sharma said.

“We need better communication, timely salaries, and alternative livelihoods that don’t pit our bellies against the dolphins,” Yogendra Mahaldar said.