Environment News

Ganges River Dolphin Recovery Programme

November 2 , 2026 13 hrs 0 min 50 0

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognised India’s Ganges River Dolphin Recovery Programme as one of the 35 UN World Restoration Flagships in its report Nature’s Comeback – Scaling Ecosystem Restoration for People and Planet.
The report was jointly published by UNEP, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
India’s Comprehensive Action Plan (2022–2047) focuses on the recovery and conservation of river dolphins and restoration of river ecosystems.
The Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List.
Globally, restoration efforts cover 252 million hectares across 149 countries and have created over 1 million green jobs.
Restoring 15% of global priority areas could store 30% of historical carbon dioxide emissions and help prevent 60% of species extinctions.
China has the largest terrestrial restoration area, covering 127.4 million hectares.