Indus River dolphins (Platanista Minor)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 13057788

  The Indus River dolphin (Platanista minor) is one of the world's rarest mammals and the second most endangered freshwater river dolphin. Approximately 1,100 specimens of this species exist today in a small fraction of their former range, the lower reaches of the Indus River in Pakistan. However, the population of this species has gradually declined because of various factors, including water pollution, poaching, fragmentation of habitat due to barrages, and dolphin strandings in the irrigation canals. Indus River dolhin is struggling for survival in the water of Indus river and it is a fact if no major efforts have been taken to save these dolphin it could become extinct in couple of years. ICS with the help of project start the program which is focusing on dolphin protection , monitoring of population, raising awareness and building the capacity of local community to conserve it.

   Indus River Dolphin have been facing severe threats of extinction in our area due to various factors especially of anthropocentric origin. To reduce these threats especially pouching and accidental killing through fishing net entangle, a community based Dolphin protection will need to be developed. This project is being proposed to initiate an effort to conserve the endangered Indus river dolphin (within Dera ismail Khan) through the involvement of local communities residing in and around of the most prioritized identified habitats. It is because the fact that due to the very remoteness of the existed dolphin habitats and inadequate management influence in and around most of these habitats to protect the dolphins, community-based conservation initiative is the best practice for the long term survival of the species in Indus river system For this purpose we will made a group of 20 young people ,train and capacitate them for dolphin conservation and link them with the relevant authority i.e Govt. Wildlife department. These will be called "Dolphin Rescue Volunteers". They will regularly monitor the most prioritized Dolphin habitat.