The Action Plan for
South American River Dolphins
2010 – 2020
Fernando Trujillo, Enrique Crespo,
Paul van Damme and José Saulo Usma
WWF - Fundación Omacha - WCS - WDCS - SolamacThe Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020
Contents
Foreword 5
Acknowledgments 7
Resumen ejecutivo 9
Copyright
Reproduction of this publication for educational
Resumo executivo 11or non-commercial purposes is authorised
without prior written permission from the
copyright holder provided the source is fully
Introduction 13acknowledged.
Chapter 1. Status of river dolphins in South America 15Citation
Trujillo, F., Crespo, E., Van Damme, P.A. &
1.1. Status, distribution and conservation of the river dolphins Inia geoffrensis 17J.S. Usma (Editors). 2010. The Action Plan for
and Sotalia spp. in Venezuela South American River Dolphins 2010 – 2020.
Marcela Portocarrero Aya, Arnaldo Ferrer, Carlos A. Lasso, Manuel Ruiz- WWF, Fundación Omacha, WDS, WDCS, García, Jaime Bolaños-Jiménez & Susana Caballero Solamac. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. 249 pp.
1.2. Status and conservation of river dolphins Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia 29
fluviatilis in the Amazon and Orinoco River Basins in Colombia ISBN: 978-958-8554-10-5
Fernando Trujillo, Marcela Portocarrero-Aya, Catalina Gómez-Salazár,
María Claudia Diazgranados, Luisa Castellanos-Mora, Manuel Ruiz-
García & Susana CaballeroPhotos
59Fundación Omacha
1.3. Ecology and conservation status of river dolphins Inia and Sotalia in Peru
Tamara L. McGuire & Enzo Aliaga-Rossel
Printed by
1.4. Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis: A brief review of the ecology and 87Unión Gráfica Ltda.
conservation status of river dolphins in the Ecuadorian Amazon Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Víctor Utreras B., Esteban Suárez R. & Salime Jalil
1.5. Distribution and conservation status of the Bolivian river dolphin Inia 99Design and Diagramation
boliviensis (d’Orbigny 1832)Luisa Fernanda Cuervo Garzón
Gabriela Tavera, Enzo Aliaga-Rossel, Paul A. Van Damme & Alvaro luisa.cuervo@gmail.com
Crespo
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ContentsThe Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020 The Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020
1.6. Status, threats, conservation initiatives and possible solutions for Inia 123 Foreword geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis in Brazil
Vera M. F. da Silva & Anthony R.Martin
situation, the conservation of these particular This Action Plan represents a consensus of a river
species, which were believed to be the most dolphin group of specialists all around South
Chapter 2. Summary of threats for river dolphins in South America: Past, present and 145 impacted by human activities. The Action Plan America. It concerns about the status of the
future was reviewed by IUCN in 1994 (Reeves & currently recognized river dolphin species (Inia
Leatherwood, 1994) and again in 2003 (Reeves geoffrensis, Inia boliviensis and Sotalia fluviatilis), Fernando Trujillo, Enrique Crespo, Paul van Damme, Saulo Usma, Diana
et al. 2003) always putting emphasis in coastal threats to their survival, and measures needed Morales-Betancourt, Alison Wood & Marcela Portocarrero
small cetaceans and river dolphins.to better understand and address those threats.
The Action Plan for the Conservation of River The main body of the Action Plan comes from Chapter 3. Freshwater protected areas and their importance for river dolphin conservation 159 Dolphins in South America is divided in the discussions carried out in a meeting carried
Marcela Portocarrero Aya, Erich Hoyt & Alison Wood several chapters containing the status of the out in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in 2008
species, with associated papers summarizing with the important objective of evaluating the
the information for each country, the summary status of the populations of the River Dolphins
Chapter 4. Abundance estimation program of South American river dolphins 2006- 167 and evaluation of threats, the role of protected in their distribution countries and to build an
2009: A summary areas for river dolphin conservation, a summary Action Plan to guarantee their survival. It must
of the abundance estimations of river dolphin be said that the objectives were achieved. More Fernando Trujillo, Catalina Gómez-Salazar, Marcela Portocarrero, María
in South America between 2006 and 2009, than 40 river dolphin biologists and government Claudia Diazgranados & Saulo Usma
and the Action plan itself with a special body officers from Amazonian countries discussed
of legislation and policy, communications, and designed the Action Plan for river dolphins
administration and institutional strengthen in the Amazon and Orinoco River Basins. This Chapter 5. The Action Plan for River Dolphins in South America 177 and education and community participation. is probably one of the most important facts, that
Fernando Trujillo, Enrique Crespo, Paul Van Damme,Vera Da Silva, Saulo Finally there are recommendations for research, is was mainly carried out by South American
Usma, Enzo Aliaga, Catalina Gómez-Salazar, Marcela Portocarrero, Esteban education and conservation for these species.cetologists and ecologists, with the support of
Suárez, Carlos A. Lasso, Arnaldo Ferrer & Jaime Bolaños local, national and international organizations.
All this means a very important effort of many
∙ Scientific research and conservation 181 people. I am proud that this was an initiative Getting to this meeting in Bolivia took a
∙ Legislation and policy 185 when Fernando Trujillo was President of long time and the effort of many people. The
∙ Communications 190 SOLAMAC (2006-2008) and that together background for these objectives was set up a few
∙ Administration and institutional strengthening 193 with him we could set a policy of medium decades ago when a River Dolphin Workshop
∙ Education and community participation 195 term to the society. I hope that this is a very was organized in the People’s Republic of China
interesting and exiting example of long term in 1986. For the first time a general view of what
policies to carry out in the future.was going on in Amazonia was given to the
Chapter 6. Recommended research, conservation and education initiatives 199 scientific community and the general public.
This important workshop produced a very
important report and associated publications.
Chapter 7. References 213 The set of priorities given there were incorporated
two years later to the first version of the Action
Enrique A. Crespo, Ph.D.Plan for Cetacean Conservation compiled by
Chapter 8. List of participants – organizations (Brief summary) President of SOLAMAC 2008-2010241 William Perrin (Perrin, 1988). After that, many
IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist Groupmeetings were organized in different parts of
South American Coordinatorthe world in order to get a deep insight of the
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Contents
ForewordThe Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020 The Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020
Acknowledgements
We are indebted to the World Wildlife Fund to the Workshop for the formulation of this
Action Plan, held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS), Whale and Dolphin Conservation Bolivia in April 2008. Their participation,
enthusiasm and willingness to devote time Society (WDCS) and the Whitley Fund for
Nature, for their financial and technical support and thought to our requests for advice and
through the formulation of this Action Plan; assistance are testimony to their commitment
to river dolphins’ conservation. to Fundacion La Salle de Ciencias Naturales
(Venezuela), Asociación Faunagua (Bolivia),
We want to thank WWF through Mary Lou Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
(INPA), Fundación Omacha (Colombia) and Higgins, Alyce Eymard and Marco Flores
the Instituto de Investigación de Recursos for encouraging and supporting a long term
regional initiative for river dolphins in South Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt for
their scientific and technical advise. We are America.
additionally grateful to the Latinamerican
Aquatic Mammal Society (SOLAMAC) for Finally, thanks to María Claudia Diazgranados,
their regional support. Marcela Portocarrero-Aya and Nicholas
Panayiotou for their contribution in the
Moreover, we are indebted to all the editorial process of this document.
contributions received from the participants
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AcknowledgementsThe Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020 The Action Plan for South American River Dolphins 2010 - 2020
Resumen ejecutivo
Los delfines de río son unas de las especies más y la Fundación Omacha (Colombia) con el
apoyo de WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) amenazadas en el mundo. Generalmente habitan
y muchas más organizaciones en cada país. Este en países en desarrollo en Asia y Suramérica,
programa ha recorrido más de 7.000 km de donde una gran diversidad de actividades
ríos en las cuencas del Amazonas y el Orinoco humanas los pone en riesgo. En Asia por
y ha capacitado cerca de 80 investigadores de ejemplo, hace dos años la Unión Internacional
nueve países. A través de estos recorridos se para la Naturaleza (UICN) declaró al delfín
identificaron las amenazas más relevantes para del río Yangtze como Extinto Ecológicamente.
las especies en cada país, se generó una red La sobrepesca, la contaminación y la dramática
de trabajo importante entre organizaciones e transformación de este río por la construcción
investigadores, y se implementó una estrategia de la represa más grande del mundo precipitaron
de comunicación global capturando la atención su extinción. La situación no es mucho mejor en
de los gobiernos sobre estas especies. Esto creó Pakistán, la India o el río Mekong en Cambodia
el ambiente propicio para diseñar el Action y Myanmar, donde sobreviven precariamente
Plan for South American River Dolphins otras especies.