Brahmaputra River’s Dolphin Population Facing a New Threat: Oil Exploration
A recent study hopes its findings are enough to safeguard a small population of Ganges River Dolphins from Oil India Ltd.’s recent proposal to deploy seismic exploration activities along the bed of the Brahmaputra River.
The Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) has a tenuous population at best - with possibly just 2,000 overall.
And with only an estimated 264 dophins in the entire Brahmaputra River system, this population is at risk of becoming another Karnali River disaster - where now just six Ganges River Dolphins remain - if protective measures are not put into place.
Although a proposal by Oil India Ltd. prospect for oil along the bed of the Brahmaputra threatens to decimate this species even further, an extensive report submitted by Dr. Abdul Wakid to the IUCN hopes to establish protected areas for the Ganges River Dolphins in the Brahmaputra river system - before it’s too late.
… a recent proposal by Oil India Ltd. to initiate seismic exploration (using explosives and airguns) along the bed of the Brahmaputra River to prospect for oil has potentially disastrous implications for Ganges River dolphins.
