biodiversity
States want to prevent the extinction of river dolphins
Scientists examine river dolphins found dead in Tefe, Brazil. The global population has declined sharply. photo
© Miguel Monteiro/Instituto Mamiraua/dpa
The number of river dolphins has declined sharply. Some countries now want to help the animals and at the same time do much more.
Nine countries from South America and Asia together want the remaining ones to die out Prevent river dolphins. Representatives of the states signed a joint declaration on Tuesday in the Colombian capital Bogotá to protect these animals. Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal and Venezuela are involved. Pakistan and Peru also joined the declaration, but did not want to officially sign the document until the coming weeks.
The countries involved agreed to improve the water quality in the dolphins’ habitat, create protected areas, combat overfishing and involve the indigenous communities in the affected regions in protecting the animals.
Large rivers are the “lifeblood” of many communities
“This declaration will help ensure river dolphin populations around the world can recover and provides hope that these iconic species will survive despite the threat,” said Stuart Orr of the conservation group WWF. “But this declaration is about more than just saving river dolphins: it is also about improving the health of the great rivers that are the lifeblood of so many communities and economies, sustaining important ecosystems from rainforests to deltas.” Due to pollution and fishing, the global freshwater dolphin population has declined by 73 percent since the 1980s, according to WWF. There are currently six different species living in rivers such as the Amazon and the Orinoco in South America or the Ganges and the Mekong in Asia. More recently, over 100 dolphins died in the Brazilian Amazon. Scientists assumed that heat and drought could have triggered the mass extinction.