Background of Project

Our project mission and goals

Painting of Ganges river dolphin in 
Bardiya National Park, Nepal

(JLewis, TDRF)

The Tropical Dolphin Research Foundation’s  (TDRF) mission is to do what we can to protect and conserve tropical dolphin species. To help us make this goal a reality, we are about to embark on a really exciting project; creating a documentary about one of the most endangered of these species, the Ganges river dolphin (Plantanista gangetica). We are doing this with the following goals in mind; 1) Create a film that will provide information to the public about this species and the need to conserve it, 2) To learn what we can about using this form of media so we can do a better job promoting the conservation issues we are concerned about and 3) To then pass this information (how to use this form of media) to other conservation scientists and managers so they can do the same. 

What is a river dolphin and why are they at risk?

Most people are not aware that some dolphins live entirely in fresh water (rivers). There are actually three of them; the Amazon river dolphin, the Franciscana (also found in South America) and the Ganges river dolphin. Until 2005, there was also a river dolphin in the Yellow river of China but it has since been declared extinct.

Ganges river dolphin in Sundarbans, Bangladesh (JLewis, TDRF)

River dolphins are at high risk of endangerment and extinction because they live so close to man, and have to deal with all the problems associated with that. Pollutants in rivers are usually in larger concentrations (coming from run off of bordering farmland or industrial centers). Dolphins in these rivers have to avoid boats (boats do hit dolphins) and fishing nets (many dolphins get caught and drown in these). River dolphins also compete with the fishermen for the few fish remaining in these rivers.

Tehri Dam, India.
photo: Arvind Iyer via flickr

In the Ganges, another big problem has come from the creation of dams. Dams divide these populations of dolphins into much smaller groups. Because they cannot interact, they cannot interbreed, so their genetic diversity is reduced, making them more susceptible to disease for example. There are many other issues that stress wildlife because of dams besides dividing populations. Examples include changing the river depth because rivers upstream of dams tend to fill up with soil that can’t move downstream anymore. So upstream water depths decrease. For the Ganges river dolphin, this is a problem because this means there is less available river to move around in.

The Ganges river dolphin

Ganges river dolphin, 
Sundarbans, Bangladesh (JLewis, TDRF)

The Ganges river dolphin is a small dolphin with a long beak (the area around the mouth) and paddle shaped fins. It is the only dolphin species that is essentially blind (no lens in the eye). The waters it lives in can be very muddy and so eyes are just not useful there. Instead it relies on echolocation (where dolphins create sounds, allow the sounds to bounce off objects and then read what is in front of them using information from the returning sounds).

This species can be found in three countries in Asia, (Nepal, India and Bangladesh), but its numbers are steadily decreasing (actual number of dolphins left may range between 1000 and 2000), and it is endangered.

Ganges river dolphins range from the headwaters of the

Ganges river in Nepal, through the Ganges river itself in India, 

to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh

Because of the low numbers and also because many of the issues it deals with are similar to what the now extinct Yellow river dolphin dealt with, there is a lot of concern that the Ganges river dolphin could also soon go extinct. Preventing this will not be easy. Managing this species involves managing human activity across three bordering countries (each with different laws and regulations) where governments struggle just to care for their own people. Still, many people across this region dedicate their lives to this effort.

Inspiration and focus of this project

Gopal Khanal, working on a grant proposal 

as we get ready for our first day of filming 

near Bardiya National Park in Nepal. (JLewis, TDRF)

Jennifer Lewis, the director of the TDRF, has been mentoring two students in Nepal that study the Ganges river dolphin in the one river system of Nepal where this species is still found (the Karnali). These two students (Shambhu Paudel and Gopal Khanal) grew up in Nepal in rural areas on the farms of their families. Neither grew up with money. You should be aware that in many of the places Jennifer visited for this film, kids have no government help to go to school. Unlike in the US for example, where all kids can go to school through 12^th grade without having to pay for this education. Not so in Asia. Here, if you get to go to school it is because your family somehow could get the money to pay for it. Or you were able to somehow get a scholarship to help.

These two young men watched the natural environments in their country decline as they grew up. And both decided they would do something about it. In particular, to help bring back the dolphin species that once ranged in four or more river systems in their country. They worked very hard and both have found their way to higher education where they now run research and outreach projects aimed at saving this species (they are both still students). They dedicate their lives to the conservation of the few remaining dolphins in their country (some estimates have been as low as 10 animals left).

Shambhu Paudel in Kathmandu, Nepal. Waiting as we prepare for his first interview (JLewis, TDRF)

The work of these young men inspired us as an organization to attempt to document their story. We felt that explaining the conservation issue from the perspective of the conservationists might be more informative and could be more inspirational, than simply creating an educational documentary about the species alone. We set out then to document the lives of researchers working on this species in the three countries where it ranges (Nepal, India and Bangladesh). Our aim is to inspire people to help protect the Ganges river dolphin in addition to other endangered species by watching the stories of these incredible conservationists.

We want to invite you to follow us as we make this journey. We will be posting nearly daily accounts of this journey on this Blog. 

As we go through this please feel free to post a comment and ask questions. You can reach us also directly. Jennifer can be contacted at: jlewis@tropicaldolphin.org and our Vice President, Jordan Blair at: jblair@tropicaldolphin.org.

We look forward to sharing these incredible stories and the journey with you!