By Dr. Muhammad Mumtaz Malik and Ahmad Khan

The Indus River system is the only place in the world where Indus dolphins (Platanista minor) are found. Threats from many sources have eroded and damaged the habitat of this unique species to a level where its survival is questionable.

Indus River dolphins have been declared "Endangered" by the World Conservation Union, and have been listed in its Red Data Book. About 1,000 animals are thought to be currently surviving in Pakistan.

Reasons for the very slow growth in the population of Indus dolphins includes:

• Biological phenomena like the age they reach maturity, low birth rate, long gestation periods and calving.

• Human activities like intentional and unintentional netting

• Consumption as food or for use in traditional medicine, degradation of its habitat

• An increase in chemical and physical pollution of water

• Construction on the Indus of huge structures like dams, barrages and spurs

• Behavioural traits, such as following fishing boats, which make them more vulnerable to threats from humans.

Recent conservation efforts to ensure dolphin survival and population growth have centered on creating protected areas. Two of these are the Indus Dolphin Reserve in Sind, and the Indus Game reserve in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The NWFP reserve, which is located in Dera Ismail Khan, stretches over an area of 81,000 hectares. Originally created by the provincial Wildlife Department to protect the large number of waterfowl, waders, and other water birds that spend their winter there, the reserve is now a centre for biodiversity.

When the area first attracted attention as potential habitat for Indus dolphins, there were still many questions about its occurrence. Although several people had reported them in the area, many biologists and conservationists remained doubtful. As a result of recent efforts to collect reliable information, two groups of this unique mammal were sighted in the Indus by staff of the NWFP Wildlife Department during February and March 2001. Of these, 5 were seen about 5 km downstream of the Indus Bridge on February 22. Ahmad Khan saw another 3 on March 1, about one km upstream of the Indus Bridge. While we were making a reference video of this species it didn't seem to be sensitive to the camera.

Confirmation that there are dolphins in the game reserve means that it is imperative that the Indus Game Reserve is declared as a high priority site for maintaining the bio-diversity of the region.

As the habitat for 20,000 waterfowl and a number of endangered Indus River dolphins, this reserve is a strong candidate for declaration as Ramsar site. Although the NWFP Wildlife Department is committed to protecting the site for waterfowl and Indus dolphins, certain limitations make this difficult to achieve. Intensive management planning for the Indus Game Reserve must be a high priority for the organizations concerned. Financial and technical resources are needed, as are well-trained protection staff. Finally, provision of conservation education for the local community and fishermen is a basic requirement if we are to secure this area for Indus River dolphins.