header: Great Indian Rhinoceros
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line Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758

CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES (numbered projects are WWF projects)

Asian Rhino Action Plan:6 During 1989, the IUCN/Species Survival Commission (SSC) Asian Rhino Specialist Group produced an Asian Rhino Action Plan. The Action Plan intended to recommend both general strategies and specific measures to protect and preserve the three species of Asian Rhino.

Priorities identified for conserving the Great Indian Rhino were as follows: to maintain the wild population of at least 2,000 rhinoceroses in at least 6 major sanctuaries in the current range of the species; expand the number of animals and sanctuaries when and where possible; respond to specific threats to populations in the wild as required; maintain a captive population capable of long term viability to guard against any unforseen extinction of the wild population; and to continue efforts to close down the trade in rhino products.

The Plan also identified general and specific recommendations for further research and conservation activities in India and Nepal. An updated version of the Asian Rhino action plan is in the final stages of completion.

Translocation Programmes: Translocation programmes have been successful in re-establishing populations in areas where the species had been previously exterminated. The Royal Chitawan National Park is reaching its carrying capacity for rhinoceros, as only a small portion of the Park has suitable habitat. In May 1990, a pair of rhinos was shipped to Fort Worth Zoo in the United States to establish a breeding unit, and a tentative agreement was formulated to export another rhino from Royal Chitawan Park during the Autumn.4 Since 1973 a total of 38 rhinos have been translocated from Chitawan to Bardia National Park to form part of a community-based sustainable development and biological diversity conservation programme funded by WWF, The Parks Department and The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation.5

Population and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA):15 A PHVA for the Great Indian Rhinoceros was initiated in 1993 by the SSC/Asian Rhino specialist group, to determine the status of this species within the areas in which it is known to occur. It is an objective of the PHVA to provide support for development of a Project Rhino by the Government of India, comparable to Project Tiger which has been critical to the conservation of that species in India. The final and formal report from the PHVA workshop should become available during 1996.

TRAFFIC: WWF has greatly increased support for TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network of WWF and IUCN. TRAFFIC is exploring culturally sensitive ways to discourage consumption of rhino horn and other rhino parts for medicinal purposes and to encourage the use of effective substitutes. WWF is assisting law enforcement agencies in improving implementation of CITES and is placing political pressure on governments of countries and territories of key concern to stop the illegal trade. WWF funds a regional TRAFFIC office in Malaysia for field investigations and general trade monitoring throughout Southeast Asia. WWF also supports TRAFFIC offices in Hong Kong, Taipei, Japan and India.

Bhutan: Rhinos in Bhutan's Manas National Park receive protection from WWF's anti-poaching project BH0852. The animals are some of the most seriously threatened in their range because of the problems in the adjacent Manas National Park in India.

Nepal: In late 1995 and early 1996, six rhinos were attacked and four killed including a pregnant female in Chitawan National Park.25 Thanks to an emergency grant (issued as an extension of project NP0019) from WWF-Netherlands to strengthen anti-poaching measures in Nepal's national parks, the situation has stabilized. A village informant scheme with rewards for information has resulted in the jailing of poachers and traders. Nepal is also working with TRAFFIC to uncover the large scale network of middle men. WWF's main rhino conservation efforts are in Chitawan (NP00851) and Bardia (NP0024) National Parks. Project NP00851 focuses mainly on a community forestry project around Royal Chitawan National Park, which contains a rich variety of wildlife including rhinos and tigers. As a result of an earlier study, WWF helped determine the needs and most appropriate site for a wildlife management training facility in Chitawan. The project initiated a series of community woodlot plantations involving hundreds of subsistence farmer-families. WWF has developed, as part of the Biodiversity Conservation Network, a consortium comprising WWF, the Nature Conservancy and the World Resources Institute, a project that will eventually involve 60,000 subsistence farmers living around the park. The project should also help local villagers reap the economic benefits from recycled eco-tourism revenues, most of which will be earmarked for the community forestry programme. The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) is implementing it with technical assistance from WWF. WWF has also developed, in close cooperation with the KMTNC and the Parks Department, a community-based sustainable development and biological diversity conservation programme in Bardia.

India: WWF supports work in a number of other protected areas where rhinos occur. Although the populations of rhinos in most of India have increased and stabilized, poaching is still a serious threat, particularly in Manas National Park, where the number of rhinos is dropping drastically. Arson, sabotage and murder by terrorists have forced some sanctuary staff to leave the reserve. From 1991 to 1993 WWF-India supported a project in Manas which resulted in a technical report, giving basic information that could be used to formulate an ecodevelopment plan for the southern periphery of the reserve. WWF-India recently prepared an action plan for Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, a relocation site for rhinos which at present has 11 rhinos. A rhino action plan is also being planned for Manas under the national Biodiversity Alliance, coordinated by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Madras, in collaboration with WWF-India. WWF is also supporting TRAFFIC India to carry out a study of the illegal trade in Indian rhino horn.


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