The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series - IUCN

is so small that it has been deemed highly likely that
the population in Nepal will be regionally extinct in
the next ten years if no action is taken.
Legal Status
CITES Appendix I
Listed in the National Parks and Wildlife
Conservation Act 2029 (1973) as protected priority
species.
National Population Size
Adults: < 20
Trend: Decreasing
There are very few South Asian River Dolphins
remaining in Nepal, with an estimated total number
of less than 20 adults with a population observed
to be in decline. No national level population
assessments in all of the potential habitats have
been carried out simultaneously.
National Distribution
This species is restricted to the Karnali, Geruwa,
Mohana, Bhada, Koshi and Narayani river systems.
Distribution outside Nepal
Bangladesh, India.
Main Threats
• Over fishing (resource depletion).
• Habitat alteration (sand mining, cutting
down of riverine forests).
• Water development projects (dams and barriers,
irrigation projects).
• Accidental killing (gill nets etc).
• Poaching for oil used as fish-bait.
• Industrial, agricultural and domestic pollution.
• Disturbance (boats, sand mining).
• Inbreeding.
Conservation Measures in Place
Karnali River system population data is being
collected on a regular basis
Conservation Recommendations
i) Conduct standardised dolphin surveys (visual/
acoustic and community interviews) in all potential
river habitats and identify dolphin priority sites.
ii) Investigate the significance of different threats
and drivers of decline and develop effective
mitigation mechanisms.
iii) Develop protected areas including
trans-boundary programme, with associated
protective management mechanisms in remaining
dolphin priority sites.
iv) Strengthen local stakeholder capacity to protect
remaining identified dolphin hotspot habitats.
v) Investigate dolphin friendly gates or barriers in
the Chisapni high dam which threatens perhaps the
last remaining South Asian River Dolphin population
in Nepal.
vi) Enhance relationships with local communities
in identified dolphin priority sites through targeted
education and awareness programmes, fostering
deeper understanding and ownership of the river
ecosystem and the plight of the dolphin as an
indicator species.
vii) Develop national river dolphin recovery plans,
with improved protective mechanisms for the
freshwater ecosystem through input into protective
environmental legislations.
viii) Strictly prohibit anthropogenic activities in
dolphin bearing river basins.
References
Kasuya and Haque 1972, Shrestha 1989, Smith 1993, Reeves et al. 2002, Joshi 2004, WWF 2006, Jefferson et al.
2008, Moreno 2003, Nowak 2003, Swinton et al. 2009, Nepal Red List of Mammals National Workshop 2010.
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