THE death of five Irrawaddy dolphins over a period of only six months should attract serious attention from the government and environmental conservationists. This series of deaths is a warning that the protected freshwater mammal is in danger.

From February to July this year, five dolphins have been found dead in the Mahakam River, East Kalimantan. Three of them died in the Kutai Kartanegara Water conservation area, and two outside it. These deaths could continue if there are no serious efforts to discover the cause and to deal with it.

Even without these deaths, according to the Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia Conservation Foundation, only 67 of the dolphins remain. The population has not increased because the birth rate is the same as the death rate, at around one dolphin per year. The deaths of these five dolphins in only six months have had a significant effect in reducing the remaining population. It is understandable that the International Union for Conservation of Nature has designated the Irrawaddy dolphin as a critically endangered species threatened with extinction.

Under Law No. 5/1990, the dolphins are categorized as a protected species. Environment and Forestry Minister Regulation No. P.106/2018 confirms the protected status of the Orcaella brevirostris, to give it its scientific name.

But this protection is limited to a regulation on paper. The implementation on the ground is still not effective. Just look at how three of the five dolphins were found dead in a water conservation area designated by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry on August 8, 2022. This conservation area should provide protection, ensuring these freshwater dolphins are safe.

The reasons for these dolphin deaths are varied, but most of them are related to human activities. The dolphins are believed to have died after being trapped in fishing nets, or as a result of chemical and waste contamination, sound pollution from vessels that disturbs the dolphins sonar system, high levels of sedimentation and degradation of their habitat.

This is why the designation of conservation areas needs to be accompanied by regional government regulations. For example, there need to be regulations banning the catching of fish, to control waste, particularly plastic waste, which ends up in the river, and concerning the use of rivers where the dolphins live. These bylaws are even more important given the increase in the frequency of coal pontoon vessels and other large ships in the waters of the Mahakam River.

At the same time, the government needs to extend the water conservation area so the Irrawaddy dolphins have a larger protected area. This is because the dolphins are facing increasing pressure from human activities, and this is moving them far away from their original habitat. The discovery of two dead dolphins outside the conservation area shows the government has been tardy in designating the extension of this conservation area.

The government also needs to immediately halt the environmental degradation that threatens the Irrawaddy dolphin’s habitat. Exploitation of land in East Kalimantan for coal mining, oil palm plantations and the construction of infrastructure such as the Nusantara capital city has led to the clearing of millions of hectares of jungle and threatened the biodiversity in the region.

Without an environmental protection breakthrough, the Irrawaddy dolphin will be increasingly under threat. Extinction is only a matter of time.