International efforts

Research by the World Wide Fund for Nature in India has found less than 2,000 Ganges river dolphins in the Indus and Yarlung rivers, downstream of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in China. However, with the efforts of the WWF, the number of Ganges river dolphins in a 164-kilometer section has increased from 22 to 42 in 10 years.

Although the number has declined due to damming projects in the 1930s, the Indus river dolphin is still slightly better off than the Baiji. During the dry season, the drastic drop in the water level creates many "death traps" for the Indus river dolphin. During the wet season, the dolphins may swim into the 60,000-kilometer irrigation network connected to the Indus River.

These networks have segregated dolphin population and led to the entrapment of dolphins in irrigation canals, which could lead to death if not released in time. The WWF has taken action to save these dolphins, rescuing 34 trapped dolphins since 2000.

The emphasis that other countries place on wildlife conservation was illustrated by Dr Zhang Xianfeng, a scientist from the Institute of Hydrobiology. One day, while he was doing research work with the Japanese National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, a local environmental protection organization issued a notice, saying that a sperm whale had been stranded on a beach.

Zhang was amazed at the speed the various authorities in Japan worked together during the rescue process, which was reported in the press and tracked with a helicopter. A similar event was also witnessed by Wang Ding in the 1990s, while he was pursuing his doctorate degree in the United States.