How Are The Ganga River Dolphins Doing?

Nachiket Kelkar, Head of Riverine Ecosystems and Livelihoods at the Wildlife Conservation Trust, shares his experiences and insights on the Ganges River, particularly focusing on the ecological changes observed in Bihar over the years. Kelkar takes us into the multifaceted challenges and cultural dynamics surrounding the Ganges River dolphin and the fisher folk communities in India. It explores the socio-economic transitions of fisher folk, the unique characteristics of the Ganges River dolphin, and the implications of conservation projects like Project Dolphin. Show Notes: MC Elsa3 Sinking — Latest News: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/ship-wreck-off-the-kerala-coast-in-may-led-to-significant-ecological-disruption-report/article70071493.eceWho is Nachiket Kelkar — https://www.linkedin.com/in/nachiket-kelkar-59975213/ https://www.wildlifeconservationtrust.org/about-us/team-2/Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramshila_Gangetic_Dolphin_SanctuaryBhagalpur Blindings case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Bhagalpur_blindings How India moves: Bhagalpur, Bihar’s third-largest city, wants to be ‘Smart’. But pollution and gridlock prevent that https://www.downtoearth.org.in/air/how-india-moves-bhagalpur-bihars-third-largest-city-wants-to-be-smart-but-pollution-and-gridlock-prevent-that Identifying potential causes of fish declines through local ecological knowledge of fishers in the Ganga River, eastern Bihar, India: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12390 What are Schedule 1 Species — IUCN CITES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_species_protected_by_CITES_Appendix_I Panidari system and the nature of fisheries: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ghazala-Shahabuddin/publication/265440866_Nature_Without_Borders/links/5eabf720299bf18b958a94ac/Nature-Without-Borders.pdf#page=76 Ganga Mukti Andolan 1991: https://sandrp.in/2025/04/29/relevance-of-ganga-mukti-andolan-then-and-now/ Thirsty Rivers, Bygone Fishes, Hungry Societies: https://sandrp.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/thirsty_rivers_bygone_fishes_hungry_societies_nachiket_kelkar_dec2012.pdf Arati’s article on the effects of the Farakka Barrage on the river: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/in-the-shifting-embrace-of-the-ganga/Hilsa recovery ranching and ladders: Challenges abound to conserve the popular hilsa fish https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/challenges-abound-to-conserve-the-popular-hilsa-fish/ Franciscana Dolphin of Brasil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Plata_dolphin Turtle hunting: https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/tracking-critically-endangered-turtles-in-the-ganges/ Platanista gangetica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_river_dolphin Baiji: 1:36:48 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiji Book on the extinction of the Baiji: Witness to Extinction: How we Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin: https://www.amazon.in/Witness-Extinction-Failed-Yangtze-Dolphin-ebook/dp/B003N2P44Y First human caused extinction of a cetacean: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2391192/ Yangtze Finless Porpoise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_finless_porpoise Indus River dolphin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_river_dolphin Now virtually extinct in IndiaContact us:Email the PodcastArati Kumar-Rao on Instagram Prem Panicker on X (Twitter) Prem on SubstackFrom The Marginlands on Instagram