Local farmers, forest dept, WWF join hands to save gharial

MEERUT: Forest department officials, working in collaboration with Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) India and farmer volunteers known as 'Ganga mitras' released 35 gharials into the Ganga at Hastinapur on Monday. With this, the number of the critically endangered species released into the river in the region in the last seven years has gone up to 606.

The move to rear gharials in captivity is significant considering the dwindling numbers of the reptile in India. The gharials released on Monday, all 2.8-year olds — 12 males and 23 females — were reared in captivity at Kukrail in Lucknow and transferred to Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary in special wooden containers. Biometrics of each of the gharials were recorded at the facility and their scutes (scales) were marked with cuts for identification. The gharials weighed between 4.5 and 6.5 kg and measured between 129 and 145 cm in total body length.

Ganga mitras — farmer volunteers trained by WWF to actively participate in gharial and turtle conservation — from Makhdoompur and Bijnor, Moradabad, Bareilly and Shahjahanpur districts participated in the release. The mitras are part of a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together people to participate in conservation initiatives, according to officials.

The gharials were released into a stretch of the river which was identified as being conducive to their survival. District forest officer Manish Mittal was also present to oversee the release.

"The state forest department, in collaboration with WWF India and local communities, is making an effort to restore the ecological health of the Ganga in Hastinapur and it is our dream to develop it into a model for aquatic biodiversity conservation," said chief conservator of forests Mukesh Kumar.

The first set of gharials was released in the area in 2009, and since then 606 gharials have made their way back into the river. "Re-introduction of gharials into rivers is a long-standing initiative, started in 1974, along with the other two crocodilians of India — the freshwater and saltwater crocodiles. Back then, there were only 30 adult breeding gharials and 270 in total in the entire country. Since then, more than 7,600 have been released in UP alone," said BC Choudhury, South Asia regional head, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), talking to TOI. "Since 2009, after it was discovered that gharial numbers in Chambal river, their main habitat, was falling, the area around Hastinapur was identified as suitable for the reptile and batches were released here. There are around 2,500-3,000 gharials in India now, thanks largely to re-introduction," he added.

"The survival rate for the released reptiles is around 40%, based on physical sighting, monitoring and direct observation," said Asghar Nawab, senior manager, aquatic biodiversity, rivers, wetlands and water programme, WWF.

"The release is a great example of successful collaboration between local communities and government to save endangered species. It will go a long way in rejuvenating the Ganga," said Suresh Babu, director (rivers), wetlands & water policy, WWF.

Source : TOI