Nachiket Kelkar, Head of Riverine Ecosystems and Livelihoods at the Wildlife Conservation Trust, shares his experiences and insights on the Ganges River, particularly focusing on the ecological changes observed in Bihar over the years.

Kelkar takes us into the multifaceted challenges and cultural dynamics surrounding the Ganges River dolphin and the fisher folk communities in India. It explores the socio-economic transitions of fisher folk, the unique characteristics of the Ganges River dolphin, and the implications of conservation projects like Project Dolphin.

Show Notes:
MC Elsa3 Sinking — Latest News: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/ship-wreck-off-the-kerala-coast-in-may-led-to-significant-ecological-disruption-report/article70071493.ece

Who is Nachiket Kelkar — https://www.linkedin.com/in/nachiket-kelkar-59975213/ https://www.wildlifeconservationtrust.org/about-us/team-2/

Vikramshila Dolphin Sanctuary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramshila_Gangetic_Dolphin_Sanctuary

Bhagalpur Blindings case https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Bhagalpur_blindings

How India moves: Bhagalpur, Bihar’s third-largest city, wants to be ‘Smart’. But pollution and gridlock prevent that https://www.downtoearth.org.in/air/how-india-moves-bhagalpur-bihars-third-largest-city-wants-to-be-smart-but-pollution-and-gridlock-prevent-that

Identifying potential causes of fish declines through local ecological knowledge of fishers in the Ganga River, eastern Bihar, India: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fme.12390

What are Schedule 1 Species — IUCN CITES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_species_protected_by_CITES_Appendix_I

Panidari system and the nature of fisheries: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ghazala-Shahabuddin/publication/265440866_Nature_Without_Borders/links/5eabf720299bf18b958a94ac/Nature-Without-Borders.pdf#page=76

Ganga Mukti Andolan 1991: https://sandrp.in/2025/04/29/relevance-of-ganga-mukti-andolan-then-and-now/

Thirsty Rivers, Bygone Fishes, Hungry Societies: https://sandrp.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/thirsty_rivers_bygone_fishes_hungry_societies_nachiket_kelkar_dec2012.pdf

Arati’s article on the effects of the Farakka Barrage on the river: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/in-the-shifting-embrace-of-the-ganga/

Hilsa recovery ranching and ladders: Challenges abound to conserve the popular hilsa fish https://india.mongabay.com/2023/01/challenges-abound-to-conserve-the-popular-hilsa-fish/

Franciscana Dolphin of Brasil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Plata_dolphin
Turtle hunting: https://india.mongabay.com/2025/06/tracking-critically-endangered-turtles-in-the-ganges/


Platanista gangetica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_river_dolphin

Baiji: 1:36:48 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiji

Book on the extinction of the Baiji: Witness to Extinction: How we Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin: https://www.amazon.in/Witness-Extinction-Failed-Yangtze-Dolphin-ebook/dp/B003N2P44Y

First human caused extinction of a cetacean: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2391192/
Yangtze Finless Porpoise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_finless_porpoise

Indus River dolphin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_river_dolphin Now virtually extinct in India

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