IUCN Letter to the Indian Minister of Environment – Concern over the impact of India’s National Waterways Act on Ganges River dolphins
In early April attention was drawn to India’s National Waterways Act 2016, which calls for massive reconfiguration of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems into inland waterways to facilitate transport cargo, coal, and industrial raw materials and to support tourism development. Given the serious implications for Ganges river dolphins and other riverine fauna, CSG members with long experience working on river dolphin science and conservation in the subcontinent prompted IUCN to send a letter to the Indian Minister of Environment, recommending that greater attention be paid to the potential impacts on biodiversity and offering to provide expert advice. The letter is available here.
A similar letter was sent from the Society for Marine Mammalogy (view at https://www.marinemammalscience.org/letters/presidential-letter-india-ganges-river-dolphins-waterways-development-program/).