Bangladesh finalizes conservation action plan to protect dolphins
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bangladesh (MoEFCC, BD) has approved the ‘Dolphin Conservation Action Plan’ to protect dolphins. At the same time, the ministry has approved several more guidelines and plans.
The plan was approved at the Ministry of MoEFCC, BD in a meeting chaired by Minister Shahab Uddin at the ‘Finalization of Four Guide Line Planning Documents’ under the ‘Expanding the Protected Area System to Incorporate Important Aquatic Environmental Management.’
Begum Habibun Nahar, Deputy Minister of the Ministry, Md. Mostafa Kamal, Secretary, Iqbal Abdullah Harun, Additional Secretary (Administration), Ahmad Shamim Al Razi, Additional Secretary (Development), Zakia Afroz, Joint-Secretary (Development), Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Chief Conservator of Forests, persons involved in preparing Atlas and Action Plan and Senior officials of the Ministry and Forest Department, were present.
According to sources at the meeting, in addition to the “Dolphin Conservation Action Plan,” “The Fund Management Guideline,” “Dolphin Atlas in Bangladesh,” and “Management Plan for the Ganges River Dolphins in Halda River” were also approved subject to some amendments.
During the meeting, the Environment Minister said that the ‘Dolphin Conservation Action Plan’ would play a prominent role in preventing the decline in the number of dolphins in rivers and coastal areas and protecting dolphins’ habitat.
In winter, ‘Dolphin Atlas in Bangladesh’ will help us to track the location of Gangetic and Irrawaddy dolphins across the country.
The Environment Minister said that in addition to conserving dolphins and their habitats, the ‘Management Plan for the Ganges River Dolphins in Halda River’ would also guide the authorities in dolphin conservation.
The ‘Fund Management Guidelines’ have been formulated so that the Dolphin Conservation Team can adequately use the funds provided by the government and carry on the dolphin conservation activities for a long time.
