World Environment Day this year was celebrated by the UN Information Centre and Pakistan Wetlands Programme through the launch of a survey on Indus River dolphin. The survey was conducted under the Pakistan Wetlands Programme, a joint initiative of UNDP, Royal Netherlands Embassy, Global Environment Facility, Ministry of Environment and the World Wide Fund for Nature - Pakistan. The survey revealed an increase in dolphin population from the 2001 figures, which is a highly endangered species in Pakistan.
In his opening remarks, the Director of the UN Information Centre, Mr Tetsuo Maximilien Ohno, explained about the theme of this year's World Environment Day "Don't Desert Drylands!". He said that poverty, unsustainable land management and climate change were turning drylands into deserts. Mr Abdul Qadir, Programme Officer of UNDP, shared the statement of Mr Jan Vandemoortele, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative. He acknowledged the efforts of the Indus Dolphin Survey team in numerating the Indus blind dolphins. He added further that the Wetlands Programme was a flagship of UNDP Environment portfolio - and it was more so because of the vital functions that wetlands performed beyond being refuge to the biological resources that were of global importance.
Ms Gill Braulik, Principal Scientist of the Pakistan Wetlands Programme, explained that dams and barrages in the Indus River changed and reduced river flows severely and degraded dolphin habitat. Reduced dry season river flow has likely resulted in the extirpation of dolphins from many hundreds of kilometers of Pakistan's rivers. Barrages also disturb the migration, breeding cycles and habitat of fish and other prey species, whereby reducing the food supply for the dolphins.
The Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Malik Amin Aslam, highlighted the importance and implications of this endangered species to the ecosystem. He also informed the media that budget has been allocated to monitor the water quality throughout Pakistan. He stressed the need to protect wild species.
==========================