WUHAN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 50 experts from China and Southeast Asian countries have gathered in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, to discuss strategies for protecting endangered freshwater dolphins.

The week-long workshop has brought together representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and China to share insights on habitat protection, ex-situ conservation strategies, and artificial breeding programs, with a focus on applying China's successful Yangtze finless porpoise conservation model in safeguarding critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphins.

The Yangtze finless porpoise, a freshwater cetacean endemic to China's Yangtze River, once faced severe population decline. However, through conservation efforts, China has successfully reversed the trend. According to a survey conducted in 2022, China's finless porpoise population had rebounded to 1,249 individuals -- marking the first population increase in decades.

In contrast, the Irrawaddy dolphin, another endangered freshwater species, demands urgent action. Its global freshwater populations are fragmented into three isolated sub-populations in Cambodia's Mekong River, Myanmar's Irrawaddy River and the Mahakam River in Indonesia, each consisting of fewer than 100 individuals.

During the workshop, experts are exploring how China's model, particularly techniques for establishing relocated populations, management, and rewilding training for low-reproduction species, could be adapted for use in Irrawaddy dolphin conservation. Discussions also include passive acoustic monitoring, habitat restoration, and other measures crucial for small cetacean protection.

The event in Wuhan is being co-hosted by the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The experts gathered there will also visit Yangtze finless porpoise reserves in Hubei and Hunan, both in central China, and Jiangsu Province in east China, with sites including natural reserves, ex-situ reserves and research bases, to observe China's conservation measures firsthand.

This exchange highlights growing regional collaboration in freshwater cetacean protection, offering hope for reversing the decline of Asia's critically endangered dolphin species, said Hao Yujiang, an associate professor at the IHB.

"I'm looking forward to learning from the experience -- and hopefully I can adapt this experience and method in Cambodia," said Im Rachna, under secretary of state of Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.