Global Declaration for River Dolphins

• After decades of seemingly irreversible decline in global river dolphin numbers, 11 Asian and South American countries today signed a landmark deal in Bogotá to save the world’s six surviving species of river dolphins from extinction.
• Adopted by Asian and South American range states from Colombia to India, the Global Declaration for River Dolphins aims to halt the decline of all river dolphin species and increase the most vulnerable populations.
• It will scale up collective efforts to safeguard the remaining river dolphin species, by developing and funding measures to eradicate gillnets, reduce pollution, expand research, and increase protected areas.
• River dolphins live in some of the world’s most important rivers, including the Amazon and Orinoco in South America, and the Ayeyarwady, Ganges, Indus, Mekong, Mahakam and Yangtze in Asia.
  • These rivers support hundreds of millions of people, from Indigenous Peoples and local communities in remote areas to the residents of megacities.
  • These rivers water vast amounts of agricultural land, fuel industry and business, and sustain a wealth of wildlife.

RIVER DOLPHINS