26 Mar 2007 - “When I
started my work in wildlife 18 years ago,
the Chambal River was bountiful with crocodiles,
turtles, dolphins and otters,” remembers
Dr Sandeep Behera, WWF-India’s freshwater
species coordinator.
“Today, one has to be extremely lucky to
sight even a few gharial in the area.”
A gharial!? A gharial is one of the most
endangered freshwater crocodile species,
with only 2,000 left in the wild, and of
that number only about 200 are breeding
adults. The species is already extinct in
Pakistan, Bhutan and Myanmar, and most likely
in Bangladesh. Other than a few recorded
nests in Nepal, the largest remaining populations
are found in just three locations in India
along the Son (2 nests), Girwa (20 nests)
and Chambal (68 nests) rivers.
Although the Chambal River — a tributary
of the Yamuna River in northern India —
is ranked as one of India’s cleanest rivers,
its gharial population — estimated at 700
— is facing decline.
“This is a result of habitat destruction,
river pollution, poaching, unregulated fishing
and extensive sand mining, which is responsible
for the loss of gharial nesting sites,”
said Dr Behera.
“River dolphins, otters and other freshwater
species are also being affected. They are
facing serious threats from human interference.”
Freshwater sanctuary
The Chambal River, like most rivers in
India, plays an integral role in the lives
of the thousands of communities living along
the banks of the river. As one local villager
explained: “This river is our lifeline.
It gives us water for drinking and agriculture.
We worship this river.”
In an attempt to preserve the sanctity
of the river and its watershed, the National
Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary was created in
1978. The sanctuary, covering a 5,400km2
area across the three Indian states of Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, protects
a 400km stretch of the Chambal River.
But despite the protection, the sanctuary
is still at risk.
“One of the main reasons for the sanctuary’s
‘death’ is the lack of inter-state coordination
in conservation efforts, be it surveying,
monitoring or enforcement,” said Dr Behera.
One local forest department official, who
asked to remain anonymous, pointed out that
despite fishing being illegal in the sanctuary
area it still goes on despite issuing notices
to fishermen. He complained that the forest
department does not have enough staff to
monitor the area. In some cases, a single
forest guard is responsible for patrolling
stretches of river up to 40km.
But the news is not all bad. Concerned
by dwindling crocodile numbers, the state
government of Madhya Pradesh started a rehabilitation
programme and captive breeding centre in
the National Chambal Sanctuary, as well
as in the state’s Ken Gharial and Son Gharial
sanctuaries.
Over the past three decades about 12,000
gharial eggs have been collected from wild
nests to be bred in captivity. As a result,
more than 5,000 young gharials have been
released into protected areas. While numbers
have increased incrementally in the Chambal
River, in other rivers, like the Mahanadi
in Orissa, only two gharials survived from
the 700 that were released there.
“These efforts have been a good start,
but a lot more needs to be done,” said noted
conservationist Romulus Whitaker of the
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT), a partner
organization of WWF-India.
He added that people’s participation in
the conservation of the area and immediate
intervention at the village level in and
around the Chambal River is important.
Coordinating conservation
In fact, calls by conservationists and
concerned citizens alike have had an impact,
with conservation efforts being scaled up
along the river.
“The state governments of Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are taking conservation
management programmes in the Chambal Sanctuary
seriously,” informed Suhas Kumar, Chief
Forest Conservator in Madhya Pradesh.
“The forest departments monitor the populations
of endangered species in the sanctuary regularly.”
It is not only the gharial that is in danger,
but other major aquatic species such as
the Ganges River dolphin. A recent survey
conducted throughout its distribution range
in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river system
identified less than 2,000 individuals in
India, with about 90 in the Chambal.
The survey was conducted by WWF-India,
together with the government of Madhya Pradesh,
the Wildlife Institute of India, MCBT and
others.
A WWF-India conservation plan for the endangered
dolphin has been in place for several years
now, working to curb habitat degradation
and fisheries bycatch.
“The presence or absence of dolphins indicates
the overall quality of the river system,”
added Dr Behera, who leads WWF-India’s dolphin
conservation efforts in the Upper Ganga
region. “Dolphins can only survive if the
flow, temperature and quality of water are
appropriate.”
“We hope that the concerned states will
devise a suitable plan to save the dolphin
and the gharial,” he added. “The future
of these animals lies upon the cooperation
between states, but equally important, the
public at large.”
* Shivangi Mishra is a Communications Officer
at WWF-India.
END NOTES:
• The Chambal is one of five tributaries
of the Yamuna River. The river flows north-northeast
through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time
through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary
between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before
turning southeast to join the Yamuna in
Uttar Pradesh state. During the monsoon
season, from July to September, the river
floods, submerging bridges and disrupting
rail and road traffic between Madhya Pradesh
and Rajasthan. At other times of the year
the water level is very shallow and difficult
to navigate.
• Gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) are distinguished
by its very long and narrow snout (an adult
male has a large bulb on top of the tip
of his snout), the crocodile spends most
of its time submerged in water feeding on
fish. Females lay their eggs on sandy riverbanks.
• The Ganges River dolphin (Platanista
gangetica) inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna
and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of India,
Nepal and Bangladesh. This vast area has
been altered by the construction of more
than 50 dams and other irrigation-related
projects, with dire consequences for the
river dolphins.
