Critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise return to lost lake stretches after sand mining ban: Report

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in News

Context:

Checking sand mining can help the population of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise to rebound, scientists found.

About the Yangtze finless porpoise:

It belongs to the group of animals which also includes dolphins and whales.
It is a species of toothless whale.
It is endemic to the Yangtze River in China, making it the country’s only known freshwater cetacean following the possible extinction of the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer).
It is also the only freshwater porpoise in the world and breeds just once in 18 months.
It is the most critically endangered of its taxonomic group and the species has an 86 per cent chance of becoming extinct in the next century.
Earlier, the Yangtze river dolphin has declared extinct.
Threats include Overfishing, increased shipping traffic and noise pollution.

Sand mining and biodiversity loss:

The rampant sand mining around Dongting lake (which connects to the Yangtze river, China) led to the rapid decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise.
Though the population has risen after the ban on sand mining was imposed in 2017.
Sand mining, which has tripled in the last two decades, is an emerging concern for global biodiversity. “Over 50 billion tonnes of sand is mined every year.”
Higher urbanisation has made sand the second-most extracted natural resource in the world after water.
Sand mining is most rampant in Asia, Africa and Latin America.