Rhinos In The Wild

What needs to be done


What needs to be done


he world's rhinos are threatened mostly by human activities. They can only be saved from imminent extinction if effective measures are taken to combat the primary and immediate threats to their survival: the persistent demand for horns for Yemeni dagger handles and traditional Oriental medicine. Urgent steps must be taken to stop the pursuit and killing of rhinos for the illegal wildlife trade. The trade in rhino horn must be curbed at the international and national level and we must explore all options and actions for the protection and conservation of all five species.

In the short term, rhino habitat needs to be protected from fragmentation and degradation so that viable rhino populations can survive. Anti-poaching efforts must be strengthened wherever rhinos survive. Government management authorities must allocate more resources into rhino conservation, clamp down on corruption, and improve management. Technical expertise should also be exchanged between range states.

Sticker promoting the ban on the sale of rhino and tiger bone In the longer term, conservation programmes must reconcile the interests of people and rhinos. This includes people living in or near rhino reserves as well as people who use, and whose ancestors have used, rhino horn and other parts for centuries. Effective substitutes must be identified within the Oriental medicinal community and their use promoted by practitioners of traditional Oriental medicine. Additional alternative materials for dagger handles must also be found and used.


Taiwan pharmacies display these stickers inside their shop window after government inspectors have confirmed they have complied with Taiwan' s ban on the sale of rhino horn and tiger bone. WWF and IUCN' s TRAFFIC Network is monitoring the effectiveness of these trade bans and trying to help governments enforce them

Culturally sensitive public awareness campaigns and environmental education activities - drawing upon the knowledge and involving the co-operation of traditional Oriental medicine practitioners - must be developed and implemented. These campaigns must recognize health attitudes and traditions that date back thousands of years. The link be-tween illegal trade in rhino horn medicine and the disastrous effect it is having on the world's endangered rhinos must be made clear through proactive publicity campaigns in consuming countries - with the ultimate aim of reducing trade levels and demand.

The current international economic situation puts considerable stress on rhino range states, undermining their capacity to enforce legislation or to manage resources within their borders. These negative forces come from the falling real prices of agricultural products on world markets, the difficult economic conditions brought about by structural adjustment programmes, and growing debt burdens. Helping reform the world economic system, and reversing the huge flows of financial resources from rhino range states to the affluent North, are also needed to ensure the long-term conservation of rhinos and their diversity-rich habitats.

According to the IUCN, Asian and African Rhino Specialist Groups, the following urgent short-term measures must be taken in the field:



  • HIGHEST PRIORITIES IN ASIAN RANGE STATES


    • Development of sanctuaries and intensive protection zones and management centres for Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    • Establishment of effective anti-poaching units in Indonesia and Malaysia.

    • Establishment of a second sanctuary for Javan rhino in Indonesia.

    • Establishment of a Javan rhino sanctuary in Vietnam, free from hunting and logging.

    • Habitat improvement for greater one-horned rhino in Kaziranga, India.

    • Infrastructure support for greater one-horned rhino conservation in India and Nepal.



  • HIGHEST PRIORITIES IN AFRICAN RANGE STATES


    • Improved security of rhino reserves, especially the Garamba National Park in Zaire, the last sanctuary for the northern white rhino.

    • More effective anti-poaching operations, for which better equipment is required.

    • Installation of fencing in critical reserves to control rhino movement and to keep the poachers out.

    • Translocation of rhinos from areas where they are vulnerable to poachers to protected sanctuaries and conservancies.

    • Provision of specialized equipment to improve monitoring of rhino populations.

    • Development of intelligence networks to combat rhino poaching and illegal trade in rhino horn.



WWF endorses fully the above recommendations and believes the following medium- and long-term measures must also begin immediately:





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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature