Staff Reporter: The “Dolphin Conservation Action Plan” has been approved at a meeting of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change chaired by Minister Md. Shahab Uddin on Tuesday. In addition to the “Dolphin Conservation Action Plan”, “Fund Management Guidelines”, “Dolphin Atlas in Bangladesh” and “Management Plan for the Ganges River Dolphin in Halda River” has also been approved subject to some amendments. Speaking on the occasion, the Environment Minister said that the “Dolphin Conservation Action Plan” would play an effective role in reducing the decline in the number of dolphins in rivers and coastal areas and in protecting the habitat of dolphins. “Dolphin Atlas in Bangladesh” will help people to know the whereabouts of Gangetic and Irrawaddy dolphins in the winter. The Minister said that in addition to conserving dolphins and their habitats, the “Management Plan for the Ganges River Dolphins in Halda River” would also serve as a guide for the authorities in dolphin conservation. The “Fund Management Guidelines” have been formulated so that the Dolphin Conservation Team can make proper use of the funds provided by the government and carry out dolphin conservation activities for a long time. Deputy Minister Begum Habibun Nahar, Secretary Md. Mostafa Kamal, Additional Secretary (Admin) Iqbal Abdullah Harun, Additional Secretary (Development) Ahmed Shamim Al Razi, Joint Secretary (Development) Zakia Afroz, Chief Conservator of Forests Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Individuals involved in the preparation of Atlas and the action plan and senior officials of the Ministry and the Forest Department were present.
