Gharial conservation

Gharial conservation

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• The collective efforts of local authorities and conservationists caused gharial nest numbers in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) rise to 36 in 2022, from 19 in 2019.

Details:

• The conservation efforts of critically endangered gharial in KWS were started in 1970s.
• The government launched a crocodile conservation project in 1975, with a goal to increase the numbers of India’s three crocodilian species – the freshwater crocodile, the gharial and the saltwater crocodile.
• They began breeding and rearing them in captivity and then releasing them in the wild.

Gharial:

• Gharials are endemic to South Asia.
• Historically, they were found in the riverine ecosystems of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and southern parts of Bhutan and Nepal.
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an estimated 5,000 gharials could be found in the wild in the 1940s.
• By 1976, there were less than 200. In India, this fish-eating reptile was on the brink of extinction at the time, with populations dropping by about 96% across its entire distribution range.
• Presently, In India, they are found within the tributaries of the Ganga: Girwa(Uttar Pradesh), Son (Madhya Pradesh), Ramganga (Uttarakhand), Mahanadi (Odisha), Gandak(Bihar), and Chambal (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan).

Conservation status:

• Under the Schedule-1 in Wildlife Protection Act 1972
• IUCN Red list: Critically endangered

Role in the ecosystem:

• Gharials are top predators and keystone species in running freshwater systems.
• They play a crucial role in bringing nutrients from the bottom of the riverbed to the surface, thus increasing fish populations and helping maintain the aquatic ecosystem.
• Of the three crocodilian species, the gharial is the most efficient fish catcher because of its unique snout.

Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS):

• KWS was among the first five sanctuaries declared since the project began, as it was home to gharial populations breeding in the  Girwa river.
• Other sanctuaries were:
  • The National Chambal Sanctuary (largest gharial conservation centre in India),
  • Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary,
  • Son Gharial Sanctuary and
  • Ken Gharial Sanctuary.
• Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Reasons for the decline of the gharial population:

• After the initial success of the conserbation-cum-captive breeding project, the government stopped the captive breeding programme, thus the gharial population falls by 58%.
• Construction of Girijapuri barrage across Girwa River.
• Vegetative growth on sandy plains in the girwa river hinders the hatching activities of gharial.
• Habitat destruction
• Pollution in river streams.