The gharial now occupies only a small part of its historic range, and remaining populations are fragmented and face threats from river regulation, fishing, sand-mining, and land-use/land-cover changes among other human activities. The species is listed as Critically Endangered (IUCN 2019), and considered to be Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE, ZSL 2007). A number of extant and emerging threats in the form of river regulation (dams, barrages, lift irrigation projects, river linking), flow modifications (non-maintenance of dry-season ecological flows, unseasonal dam discharge), sand-mining, dynamite and gill-net fishing, and land-use/land-cover changes (agricultural expansion, ravine flattening, linear intrusions, etc.) threaten to severely limit the conservation potential of the Chambal River and the long-term prospects for the gharial and other dependent species.

The gharial is conservation dependent, and the long-term survival and persistence of populations requires site-specific interventions.

To secure gharial populations and riverscapes, WCT is

• assessing the viability of extant gharial populations and habitats
• developing effective population monitoring tools
• evaluating current management practices
• estimating ecological flow requirements in regulated rivers
• building capacity of frontline protection personnel
• engaging local communities through communication, education and awareness outreach.

In short, WCT is building a conservation roadmap for gharial conservation under its Programme Makara with an emphasis on Chambal River, and Son, Ghaghra, and Gandak Rivers.