Lesson of 50 years: Save Rivers to really Save Gharials

Gharial rearing.

June 26, 2025SANDRP

The Central message after fifty years of Gharial Conservation effort since 1975 is that Gharial’s fate remains precarious. It seems like a species living on borrowed time, forever on the verge of extinction. It is living thanks to a few scientists, forest officials and some riverside communities. And if we really want to save Gharials, we must save rivers, the habitat of Gharials from sand mining, dams and pollution.

If the next 50 years of Gharial conservation are to be more successful than the last, India will need to protect not just a species, but an entire ecosystem. Gharials can be saved only if their habitat, rivers can be saved. India showed the will to save tigers starting early 1970s, but is there a will to save some of the rivers to save gharials?

The Gharials: the timeline The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus)—a fish-eating crocodilian with a slender snout—once thrived across 80,000 sq km of the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mahanadi River systems. Decimated by habitat loss, poaching, and fishing-net entanglements, the species now survives in just 14 fragmented river stretches across India and Nepal.

• Historical reports from the 19th to early 20th centuries speak of abundant gharials in the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Indus and Irrawaddy river systems.

• By the 1940s, their population estimated to be 5000-10000 individuals.

• By the early 1970s, gharials had vanished from over 98% of their historical range.

• 1975 winter: Govt of India, FAO and UNDP jointly launched the Crocodile Conservation Project. 16 rehabilitation centres and many crocodile sanctuaries were announced, including National Chambal Sanctuary (NCS), Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary, Son Gharial Sanctuary and Ken Gharial Sanctuary.

• 2008: The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust launched the Gharial Ecology Project (GEP) to bring science back to the field. The project has since documented population trends and the precise ways gharials interact with their habitats and multiple threats they face.

• 2025: The wild population of adult gharials stands at around 650. 550 of them confined to NCS, Gharial’s last real stronghold. However, upstream sites like Palighat and Nadigaon are losing nesting sites to rampant sand mining, illegal fishing nets. How can a conservation program going on for 50 years yield just 650 adult gharials?

One of the biggest threat to Gharials is the unsustainable sand mining from the rivers as sand bars along the rivers are essential habitats for the Gharials. This is also true at the National Chambal River Sanctuary.

Experts say save rivers to save Gharials Experts now think that saving our rivers might be key to protecting the species. Steps recommended include: Enforce ban on sand mining within 500 m of active nesting sites, deploy community led river watch programs, eliminate gill nates from fishing, facilitate corridor connectivity between fragmented river segments, scale up school and college level awareness programs on riverine biodiversity and Gharial conservation efforts between UP, MP, Rajasthan and Bihar and prevent translocation conflicts (e.g. Son to Gandak dispersal).

Rajeev Chauhan, secretary, Society for Conservation of Nature says, “Captive breeding and reintroductions, though important, serve as mere band-aids on a much deeper wound. Without flow regulation reforms, fishing regulations and sand mining crackdowns, no number of hatchlings released into the wild will sustain populations.”

Prof Jeffery Lang, principal investigator, GEP says, “Gharial conservation, moving forward, must refocus integrity of river habitats, particularly open, free flowing mainstream channels free of dams, barrages and other impediments, with minimal water extraction and with very limited sand extraction. He said in place of head-starting, more emphasis needs to be placed on protecting riverside habitats, as well as the rivers themselves.

However, monitoring data from GEP shows that hatchling survival post monsoon remains dismally low, with upto 90% mortality in many years. According to experts, captive rearing may only delay extinction, not replace habitat.

Odisha On World Crocodile Day on June 17, Odisha celebrated 50 years of a programme. The journey began in 1975 with three distinct projects — saltwater crocodiles in Bhitarkanika-India’s second largest mangrove forest, gharials in Satkosia and muggers in Similipal. Odisha is the only state to host all three species. Census data from January 2025 revealed there are 1,826 saltwater crocodiles in Bhitarkanika, 16 gharials in Satkosia gorge, and around 300 muggers across the state’s rivers. But success has brought new challenges. “We’re now addressing human-crocodile conflict, especially in Bhitarkanika,” Sudhakar Kar noted. Measures like barricades and warning systems have been implemented to ensure community safety.

Impact of Climate Change The impending impacts of climate-driven habitat shifts demand a strategy overhaul. A new study by Indian and international researchers used species-distribution models to project gharial habitat suitability under future climate scenarios. The results are striking: by 2080, suitable habitat could grow by 36%–145%, even under both moderate and extreme warming projections.

Uttar Pradesh emerges as the most promising region, poised to host the largest gharial population. Madhya Pradesh could become a new safe haven, with potential for over 31,000 sq km of suitable habitat. Assam, Uttarakhand, and Bihar also show encouraging trends, while eastern states like Manipur, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh—previously devoid of gharials—may soon offer refuge. Odisha is expected to lose all suitable gharial habitat under future climates, and Rajasthan may also see declines.

The researchers recommend ground surveys in newly suitable zones, particularly the Brahmaputra and Mahanadi basins, prior to any reintroduction. They also advocate for designating these areas as protected zones, enhancing ecological monitoring, and partnering with local communities through awareness initiatives and compensation programs.

Many Questions, no answers Political will to save the Gharials is not currently visible on the horizon. Can we work to create it? What will it take to create political will to save Rivers to save Gharials? Can Gharials achieve the charismatic status that Tigers have achieved? What will it take to achieve that? We know why we need to save Tigers. Do we have similarly convincing reasons to answer why we need to save Gharials? Many questions, almost no clear answers.

SANDRP