MP expands wildlife focus to endangered river Dolphins

Bhopal: After strengthening conservation programmes for tigers, cheetahs, elephants and wild buffaloes, Madhya Pradesh is turning its attention to one of India’s most threatened freshwater species, the endangered Gangetic river dolphin, through a Centre-backed scientific survey in the Chambal river system.

The state forest department has approved a three-year scientific survey in the National Chambal Sanctuary as part of the Centre-backed Rangewide Estimation of Riverine and Estuarine Dolphin (Second Cycle) under Project Dolphin of the Union environment ministry.

The study, to be conducted between 2026 and 2028, will be coordinated by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, in partnership with state forest departments and conservation organisations. Officials said the exercise aims to generate reliable data on dolphin numbers, distribution, habitat use and threats across India’s river systems.

The survey follows the first nationwide dolphin census conducted between 2021 and 2023, whose results were released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the National Board for Wildlife meeting in Gir last year. The assessment estimated around 6,327 river dolphins across India’s major river systems, including the Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal and Brahmaputra.

The National Chambal Sanctuary, which stretches nearly 435 km across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, emerged as one of the species’ most important strongholds, supporting an estimated 167 Gangetic river dolphins.

Fieldwork in Madhya Pradesh began with a summer survey in May-June 2026 and will be followed by winter assessments between October 2026 and January 2027. Researchers will estimate dolphin abundance, study river habitats and document aquatic biodiversity across the sanctuary.

The project will use modern tools such as hydrophones for underwater acoustic monitoring, along with camera-based documentation and field observations to better understand dolphin movement and behaviour. Camera traps will also be installed in Chambal’s ravines to record terrestrial wildlife linked to the river ecosystem.

State Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Samita Rajora said the initiative reflects the state’s evolving conservation priorities. “Madhya Pradesh has built a strong conservation framework for species such as tigers, cheetahs, elephants and wild buffaloes. We are now expanding our focus to freshwater biodiversity because healthy rivers are equally important for ecological balance,” she said.

Emphasising the broader significance of the exercise, Rajora added, “This is not merely a population estimation exercise. The study will improve our understanding of river habitats, associated biodiversity and conservation challenges in the Chambal ecosystem. Scientific findings will help us take informed conservation decisions.”

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) L Krishnamurthy said the survey would contribute to India’s long-term river conservation strategy. “The survey follows a standardised scientific methodology across states, making the data comparable and policy-oriented. It will help us assess population trends, habitat quality and threats, which are essential for long-term management,” he said.

Declared India’s national aquatic animal in 2009, the Gangetic river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Researchers will also monitor other protected aquatic species, including gharials and mugger crocodiles, while assessing threats such as habitat fragmentation, declining river flows, accidental entanglement in fishing nets and freshwater degradation.

Officials said the expanded second-cycle survey will cover additional river stretches nationwide and include estuarine species such as the Irrawaddy dolphin, helping shape evidence-based conservation planning under Project Dolphin for India’s increasingly stressed river ecosystems.