Global Declaration For River Dolphins:
In a ground-breaking development, 11 Asian and South American countries recently signed a global declaration, the “Global Declaration for River Dolphins,” aimed at preserving the world’s six remaining river dolphin species.
- Global Declaration for River Dolphins is designed to guide 14 nations where river dolphins inhabit, with a focus on responsible freshwater dolphin conservation.
- It aims to halt the decline of all river dolphin species and increase the most vulnerable populations.
- The declaration will escalate collaborative endeavours to safeguard the surviving river dolphin species.
- Countries that adopted the declaration include Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, and Venezuela.
- The countries involved agreed to improve water quality in the dolphins’ habitat, create protected areas, tackle overfishing, and involve Indigenous communities in the affected regions in protecting the animals.
River dolphins:
- River dolphins are any of six species of small, usually freshwater aquatic mammals that are related to whales (Order Cetacea).
- A seventh river dolphin species, the Chinese river dolphin, or baiji, was declared extinct in 2007.
- All six species of river dolphins are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
