Just over a thousand dolphins were counted by a scientific team who survived grueling conditions including dust storms, gale force winds and searing temperatures of 45 C (113 F), to complete the first ever survey of Pakistan's Indus River dolphins. Spending their days traveling in cramped traditional wooden fishing boats and their nights camping by the river, the team lift Kalabagh in Punjab on 12th March, arriving nearly 7 weeks later in Hyderabad in Sindh after covering 1400km, and counting 1,100 dolphins on the way.

Indus dolphins, which live only in Pakistan's Indus River, are one of the world's most endangered dolphins. They are one of only five species that have, over a period of millions of years, adapted to living in fresh water. The Indus and Ganges river dolphins of South Asia are the most unique of these five species as they are functionally blind. In much the same way as a modern submarine uses sonar, they use high frequency sound to navigate, socialize and locate their prey.

Impassable irrigation barrages on the river have split the dolphins into small populations. The same barrages that make life difficult for the dolphins also presented a major challenge to the survey team. Fortunately they did not become trapped like the dolphins, as they were able to try many different ways of getting past the barrages and low bridges. Some of these were: using camels to haul out the survey boats, take them around the barrage and then back into the water, dismantling the superstructure of the boats, and weighing them down with crowds of people so that they were low enough in the wter to go under bridges.

During the survey, the largest number of dolphins, 602, was seen from Guddu to Sukkur barrages, with 259 recorded from Taunsa to Guddu, and 84 from chashma to Taunsa. Only 18 dolphins were counted in 500km of river from Sukkur to Kotri barrages. The low numbers are likely to be due to extraction of water for irrigation which leaves very little water flowing through the area in the dry season. Estimates of dolphin numbers were made for several small sections of the river which couldn't be surveyed because of security concerns.

State-of-the-art global positioning system equipment and satellite images of the river system were used to pinpoint and record where, when and how many of the dolphins were seen. In addition, comprehensive data was gathered on water quality and dolphin habitat and densities. This detailed information will enable conservationists to carefully plan and implement a strategy to secure the future of the blind dolphins.

The survey was partially sponsored by the people of Sweden through WWF-Sweden. Pakistan's federal government has ratified the international Convention on Biodiversity and has, therefore, entered into a treaty with the world community of nations to protect species of special concern like Indus dolphins. As well as WWF - Pakistan, the other participating organizations were Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, UK, NWFP Wildlife Department, Punjab Wildlife Department, Sindh Wildlife Department, Zoological Survey Department, Adventure Foundation Pakistan and Karavan Leaders.

As a result of the survey, both national and international media organizations have shown great interest in Pakistan's river dolphins, and many stories have been published. A leading scientist has described Indus River dolphins as "living fossils" and claims that they are one of the most precious components of the different life forms in South Asia. The dolphins can be seen as symbols of the health of Pakistan's environment and its capacity to support humans and all other species.

The Indus Survey is the latest of a number of initiatives during the past few years that have been aimed at conserving river dolphins in South Asia and South America. The exact number of river dolphin species is still being debated by scientists, but what is known is that all populations of fresh-water dolphins need to be protected if they are to survive.

An important milestone in dolphin conservation was the South Asia River Dolphin Workshop, held in Lahore, November 1999, and hosted by WWF-P. The aims of the workshop were to identify the threats facing river dolphins in the region and to develop a regional plan for conservation action.

Subsequently, a regional river dolphin conservation strategy, Conservation Action for this strategy, eight Aquatic Biodiversity Conservancies were nominated as the focus for conservation, education and research activities. In Pakistan two areas were nominated - Indus Dolphin Reserve between Guddu and Sukkur barrages, and Indus River between Guddu and Taunsa barrages.

The workshop also identified the problem of dolphins becoming trapped in irrigation canals, and the need to develop a standard rescue and research protocol, as well as training and equipping rescue teams. Over the past two years, there have been two well publicized attempts to rescue dolphins stranded in Indus irrigation canals.