River dolphins on the verge of extinction in Bangladesh
Sunday, 31 August 2008
River dolphins, gavial (gharial) and turtles are becoming extinct from the rivers of the country.
When the list of near-extinct animals is increasing it is a rare opportunity to watch river dolphins and gavial in the rivers of Bangladesh.
In an interview with the BSS, Chief Executive of Bangladesh Wild Animal Trust and eminent geologist Prof Anwarul Islam said that narrowing of the rivers as well as falling in water table in all the rivers, dumping of chemical wastes from the factories and trapping of aquatic animals in the fishing nets are the reasons behind the extinction of these animals.
Quoting international law, the geologist said, fishermen should use specialised nets when fishing in the rivers so that river dolphins are not trapped in the nets. "But this law is not in practice in Bangladesh", he said.
There is no alternative to political and social commitments for preserving the bio-diversity, Prof Anwarul said urging all political parties for inclusion of bio-diversity issue in their election manifesto ahead of the next general polls.
He said that dolphins were abundant in the country's rivers during late last century. It was amusing for the passengers of the river transports to see the dolphins diving in the waters, he added.
Although the dolphins can be seen in the Padma, the Meghna and the Jamuna, but are no longer seen in the tributaries.
Gharials are not also available now, although they were seen taking sunbath on river banks one or two decades ago.
Prof Anwarul said, two species of river dolphins were available in rivers of Bangladesh, of them one is Ganges River dolphin with long jaws.
The other species is Irawaddy dolphin, featured with flat jaws. Both species of river dolphins were quite amusing. Of these, Ganges River dolphins are on the verge of extinction, he said.
According to zoologists, elephants and river dolphins are intelligent animals next to human beings. River dolphins mainly live in the rivers of northern part of Bangladesh. But the excessive fishing in the rivers by the fishermen caused adverse impact on the existence of dolphins.
A total of 11 species of fishes have faced total extinction from the rivers of Bangladesh and if over exploitation of fish continues the existence of more species of fish could not be found in the near future, he feared.
According to a statistics of the IUCN, the World Conservation Union, the number of river dolphins around the globe is not more than 5,000, of which two species of river dolphins are among the most endangered condition.
Bangladesh Wild Animal Trust and New York based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) stressed on the need for creating a dolphin sanctuary for the river dolphins in the Sunderbans area of Bangladesh.
When the list of near-extinct animals is increasing it is a rare opportunity to watch river dolphins and gavial in the rivers of Bangladesh.
In an interview with the BSS, Chief Executive of Bangladesh Wild Animal Trust and eminent geologist Prof Anwarul Islam said that narrowing of the rivers as well as falling in water table in all the rivers, dumping of chemical wastes from the factories and trapping of aquatic animals in the fishing nets are the reasons behind the extinction of these animals.
Quoting international law, the geologist said, fishermen should use specialised nets when fishing in the rivers so that river dolphins are not trapped in the nets. "But this law is not in practice in Bangladesh", he said.
There is no alternative to political and social commitments for preserving the bio-diversity, Prof Anwarul said urging all political parties for inclusion of bio-diversity issue in their election manifesto ahead of the next general polls.
He said that dolphins were abundant in the country's rivers during late last century. It was amusing for the passengers of the river transports to see the dolphins diving in the waters, he added.
Although the dolphins can be seen in the Padma, the Meghna and the Jamuna, but are no longer seen in the tributaries.
Gharials are not also available now, although they were seen taking sunbath on river banks one or two decades ago.
Prof Anwarul said, two species of river dolphins were available in rivers of Bangladesh, of them one is Ganges River dolphin with long jaws.
The other species is Irawaddy dolphin, featured with flat jaws. Both species of river dolphins were quite amusing. Of these, Ganges River dolphins are on the verge of extinction, he said.
According to zoologists, elephants and river dolphins are intelligent animals next to human beings. River dolphins mainly live in the rivers of northern part of Bangladesh. But the excessive fishing in the rivers by the fishermen caused adverse impact on the existence of dolphins.
A total of 11 species of fishes have faced total extinction from the rivers of Bangladesh and if over exploitation of fish continues the existence of more species of fish could not be found in the near future, he feared.
According to a statistics of the IUCN, the World Conservation Union, the number of river dolphins around the globe is not more than 5,000, of which two species of river dolphins are among the most endangered condition.
Bangladesh Wild Animal Trust and New York based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) stressed on the need for creating a dolphin sanctuary for the river dolphins in the Sunderbans area of Bangladesh.