The 1970s and "Project Rhino"
Driven by the growing trade in rhino horn, the 1970s saw a tremendous upsurge in poaching. WWF spending was a little under CHF850,000 for the decade. About 50 per cent of this was devoted to assisting protected areas - largely in support of anti-poaching efforts in Kenya's Tsavo and Tanzania's Serengeti national parks. In Zimbabwe, WWF helped meet the costs of translocating threatened rhinos from the north of the country to Gonarezhou National Park in the south.
As the decade wore on, rhino poaching increased dramatically and it became clear to those working in Kenya that traditional methods of protecting rhinos within vast but difficult-to-control protected areas had become virtually impossible. Wildlife departments, hard hit by economic woes, and in some countries by high-level corruption, were overwhelmed not only by the scale of the problem but also by highly organized and well-armed poaching gangs. With hindsight, conservation organizations and African governments, with their limited budgets, were largely powerless to deal with the strength of the socio-economic forces and the demand that was driving the illegal trade in rhino horn.
In 1977, the newly ratified CITES Convention attempted to address the continuing decline of the world's five rhino species by enacting a ban on international trade in all rhino products. Although the ban has had little demonstrable effect on the decline in rhino numbers, it has helped by drawing considerable attention to the issue.
By the end of the decade, WWF was funding continent-wide surveys and meetings of experts in an attempt to develop strategies to save the remaining rhinos. In 1979 WWF launched Project Rhino, its first fundraising campaign aimed specifically at rhino conservation. The appeal raised almost US$1.3 million, enabling WWF to increase its commitment to rhino conservation worldwide.