Question
Download Solution PDFUnder which of the following Schedules of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 are the Gangetic Dolphins protected?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe correct answer is First Schedule.
Key Points
- Gangetic Dolphins are the National Aquatic Animal of India.
- They are found in the rivers of Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna.
- They live only in freshwater and are found in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
- They are essentially blind mammals.
- Due to the construction of dams, increasing pollution and catch in fishnets leads to habitat loss.
- For their conservation government has taken various measures like
- Project Dolphin
- Establishment of Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar.
- Protected under Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- Its IUCN status is Endangered.
Additional Information
- There are three types of Dolphine found in India
- Indus river dolphins
- Found in the Indus river and its tributaries in India and Pakistan.
- State aquatic animal of Punjab.
- Ganga river dolphins
- Irrawaddy dolphins
- It is found in marine, brackish, and freshwater.
- In India, it is found in Chilika lake of Orissa.
- Its IUCN status is Endangered.
Important Points
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for protection for wild animals, birds, and plant species.
- The act has six schedules.
- It was amended in the year 2002 which added Conservation reserves and Community reserves in its purview.
| Schedule I and Schedule II | It provides absolute protection and prohibition on their trade. Offences under these are charged with the highest penalties. |
| Schedule III and Schedule IV | It provides high protection with the prohibition on their trade with less penalty. |
| Schedule V | It says animals which are vermin (small wild animals that carry disease and destroy plants and food) can be hunted. |
| Schedule VI | It provides for regulation in the cultivation of a specified plant and restricts its possession, sale and transportation. |
- The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 was amended in 2022 to reduce the number of schedules from six to four:
- Schedule I: Animals that require the highest level of protection
- Schedule II: Animals that require a lesser degree of protection
- Schedule III: Protected plant species
- Schedule IV: Species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Last updated on Jun 30, 2025
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