WWF - News & Publications

Uganda unveils the world's first Earth Hour forest

2013-03-14

Kampala, Uganda / Singapore: Preparations across the globe kick off for Earth Hour 2013 with the creation of the world's first Earth Hour Forest in the East African nation of Uganda, to fight against the 6,000 hectares of deforestation that occurs in the country every month.

WWF Uganda identified close to 2,700 hectares of degraded land, and set a goal to fill it with at least 500,000 indigenous trees as part of their Earth Hour 2013 campaign. Earth Hour 2013 will take place at 8.30pm on Saturday 23 March.

"We cannot afford to ignore this critical environmental threat we are facing today. So, we are calling upon every individual, business, government agency, friends and family members to join us in planting this new landmark for Uganda's environment," said David Duli, Country Director, WWF Uganda Country Office.

Businesses, government officials and individuals are quickly heeding the call and taking up the challenge set by WWF Uganda to reach their 2013 goal. Leading the way is Standard Chartered Bank - Uganda, which has already committed to plant close to 250,000 trees, and the Ugandan Minister of State for Water and Environment who has personally pledged to plant 1,000 trees.

"Earth Hour 2013 is the rallying point for millions of people in 152 countries and territories across the world to address the climate change challenge. It illustrates that it's within our reach and power to work together for a sustainable future," said Andy Ridley, CEO and co-founder of Earth Hour.

This tree planting initiative is one of thousands of Earth Hour's I Will If You Will challenges taking place worldwide. I Will If You Will is a campaign that encourages everyone to take a positive action for the environment, beyond the Earth Hour hour. In 2012, nearly 10,000 challenges were posted on YouTube.com/EarthHour driving more than 4.6 million people to interact with the challenges and 200,000 to accept challenges on the platform alone.

The action might be a simple lifestyle change or something that leads to political change. It might require 10 people to do something, or 10,000. I Will If You Will allows anybody – from a kid in a classroom to a President of a nation - to become the inspiration to their friends, family, colleagues and communities by sharing what they're willing to do to protect the planet.

Uganda's Earth Hour Forest is the second huge environmental outcome of the I Will If You Will campaign. In December, the Russian Parliament passed a strengthened law to better protect the country's seas from oil pollution after a petition carrying the voices of 122,000 people was successfully presented to the State Duma.

Join the Earth Hour global community and help save the planet at www.earthhour.org/signup.

Earth Hour 2013 will take place at 8.30pm – 9.30pm on Saturday 23 March

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Benjamin Vozzo, Earth Hour Global E:benjamin@earthhour.org Ph: +65 8223 1728

Mai Tatoy, Earth Hour Global, E: mai@earthhour.org Ph: +65 8223 1654

To join the global community head to:

Earth Hour www.earthhour.org

Facebook www.facebook.com/earthhour

Twitter www.twitter.com/earthhour

YouTube www.YouTube.com/EarthHour

Google+ plus.google.com/+EarthHour

Governments fall short on immediate efforts to curb illegal ivory trade at wildlife trade meeting

2013-03-12

Bangkok, Thailand - World governments at the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) on Tuesday opted against immediate trade sanctions against several countries that have repeatedly failed to tackle the trade in ivory.

"We're disappointed by the lack of urgency from governments to speed up the sanctions process against countries that have failed to act for years to curb the illegal ivory trade in their countries, while the slaughter of thousands of elephants continues in Africa," said Carlos Drews, head of WWF's CITES delegation.

"However we will be watching to see that CITES holds these governments to account in the coming year."

Despite an early discussion in CITES on potential trade sanctions against countries failing to regulate their ivory markets, governments did not enact those rules against offenders including Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda.

Governments instead directed those countries to identify actions and deadlines to ensure progress in controlling illegal ivory trade before summer 2014, with the potential threat that they could face trade sanctions then if there was no significant improvement in the situation. The nine countries were given just over a year to show improvements in their performance.

"Governments have been aware for years about the lack of compliance by several countries. Forest elephants in Central Africa are declining rapidly and running out of time," Drews said. "We hope governments will speed up compliance measures against countries flouting restrictions on the ivory trade."

The worst offenders, including top demand countries China and Thailand, the host country for the meeting, as well as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malaysia, Philippines and Viet Nam, are expected to be discussed in a separate session on Thursday.

"We hope that governments will take a stronger stance against these countries considered the biggest problems when it comes to the illegal ivory trade, and that should include much more urgency than we saw today," Drews said.

Under treaty rules, CITES member states can recommend that parties stop trading with non-compliant countries in the 35,000 species covered under the convention, from orchids to crocodile skins.

Tuesday's decisions came as poaching of elephants has reached crisis levels. Up to 30,000 elephants are slaughtered every year to feed the illegal ivory trade. The ivory trade has been regulated under CITES since the early 1970s.

There were, however, several other measures adopted by governments to help curb the illegal ivory trade, including:

The creation of an Ivory Enforcement Task Force, which will allow for better law enforcement collaboration between countries
Better DNA-based forensic techniques to identify the origin of confiscated ivory
An acknowledgement of the need for demand reduction campaigns on ivory

For further information please contact:
Ian Morrison, ian.morrison@wwfus.org, +1 202 372 6373, +66 90 414 3853
Chris Chaplin, cchaplin@wwf.sg, +65 9826 3802

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Additional CITES media materials are available at www.panda.org/citesmedia . For updates from the conference follow us on Twitter @WWF_media.

WWF statement on rhinos at CITES

2013-03-12

Carlos Drews, head of WWF's delegation at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) issued the following statement today in response to decisions from world governments to offer better protection for rhinos:

"Governments today made a clear choice at CITES to offer more protection to rhinos by agreeing on timelines that will help two of the worst offenders in the rhino horn trade, Viet Nam and Mozambique, clean up their act.

"This is a big step forward for the protection of rhinos, a prehistoric animal that are being butchered for their horns at alarming rates to feed demand primarily in Viet Nam.

"A record 668 South African rhinos were killed by poachers last year, and close to 150 have died so far in 2013 - we're already moving at a pace that could see even more rhinos killed for their horns than last year.

"The challenge now is to ensure that Viet Nam and Mozambique make progress on their CITES commitments within the agreed time frame to avoid trade sanctions in the summer of 2014."

Viet Nam is the main destination for rhino horn and is now required to implement a strategy to reduce demand in the country and ensure horn traffickers are prosecuted and strongly punished.

Today's success also means that Mozambique, a major transit country for rhino horn, must strengthen legislation and enforcement to reduce trade flows exiting the African continent. It is currently only a misdemeanour to smuggle rhino horns through Mozambique. The country shares a border with South Africa's Kruger National Park, home to most of the world's rhinos and also the epicentre of illegal killing.

Rhino poaching has hit record highs and is currently exacerbated by increasingly sophisticated criminal networks. There is also a marked increase in consumption in Vietnam, fuelled by claims that rhino horn cures cancer and hangovers.

For further information:
Ian Morrison, ian.morrison@wwfus.org, (US) +1 202 372 6373, (Bangkok) +66 904 143 853
Chris Chaplin, cchaplin@wwf.sg, +65 9826 3802

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

www.panda.org/news for latest news and media resources

New agreement between South Africa and Viet Nam - A turning point in tackling rhino poaching crisis, say WWF, TRAFFIC

2012-12-10

Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 10th December — A pivotal moment in efforts to tackle the current rhino poaching crisis took place today as the governments of South Africa and Viet Nam signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve co-operation between the two states on biodiversity conservation and protection including tackling illegal wildlife trafficking.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by H.E. Edna Molewa, Minister for the South African Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and H.E. Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam during a visit by Minister Molewa to Viet Nam. The main elements of co-operation outlined in the MoU include the field of biodiversity management, conservation, protection, law enforcement, compliance with CITES and other relevant legislation and Conventions. Based on equality and mutual benefit it comes into force on the date of signature and notes specifically that illegal wildlife trafficking remains a global challenge.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, H.E. Edna Molewa said: "South Africa is looking forward to receiving the close co-operation from Vietnamese partners to stop the illegal trade of rhino horns from South Africa to Vietnam."

H.E. Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam also recognised the importance of co-operation between the two countries, stating that: "Fighting against crime on wildlife regulations especially on the rare, precious and endangered species including rhinos and its derivatives are always of concern to the Vietnam government."

He stressed: "The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in co-operation with related ministries and agencies, are submitting the Prime Minister to issue a Decision on banning the import of all rhino specimens to Vietnam in 2012."

Although the MoU between South Africa and Viet Nam refers only in general terms to addressing illegal wildlife smuggling, there are clear indications that rhino horn trafficking will be top of the new agenda on co-operation between the two nations.

"WWF and TRAFFIC welcome the new agreement, which marks a turning point in efforts to protect Africa's rhinos and look forward to seeing action being undertaken by both countries to end the current rhino poaching crisis," said Stuart Chapman, WWF-Greater Mekong Conservation Director.

"South Africa and Viet Nam have publicly signalled their intention to get tough on the criminal syndicates behind the rhino poaching spree," said Chapman.

Currently hundreds of rhinos are being poached each year in South Africa, their horns hacked off and smuggled to meet the soaring demand in Viet Nam, where rhino horn is in demand as a supposed "miracle medicine", despite a lack of supporting medical evidence.

Asian-run criminal syndicates are believed to be behind much of the crime, with couriers paid to smuggle poached horns from Africa to Asia, where they end up in the hands of wealthy Vietnamese. TRAFFIC's report released in August 2012 identified Viet Nam as the prime destination for much of the illegal rhino horn.

Rhino poaching numbers in South Africa have surged from 13 in 2007, to over 600 in 2012. In addition, there have been 246 people arrested in connection with the poaching of rhinos and the illegal trade of rhino horn in South Africa in 2012 alone.

In 2010, TRAFFIC convened a meeting between South African enforcement officials and their counterparts in Viet Nam to establish links between the two as part of a major effort to address the rhino horn crisis. This meeting and a subsequent return visit by Vietnamese officials to South Africa, laid the foundation for today's intergovernmental agreement.

"Rhino poaching is a key burning conservation issue, and through the public commitments of the two governments at this signing ceremony today, we have seen promising beginnings of collaborative action. This commitment now needs to be turned into urgent action to turn the crisis around," said Dr. Naomi Doak, Coordinator of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia–Greater Mekong Programme.

"The world's rhino populations are hanging by a thread, and today the opportunity was taken to throw them another lifeline," said Dr. Doak.

###

WWF and its partner TRAFFIC, the wildlife monitoring network, are campaigning for greater protection of threatened species such as rhinos, tigers and elephants. In order to save endangered animals, source, transit and demand countries must all improve co-operation, law enforcement, customs controls and judicial systems. WWF and TRAFFIC are also urging governments to undertake demand reduction efforts to curb the use of endangered species products.

For further information or to schedule an interview with WWF or TRAFFIC, please contact:

WWF-Viet Nam and TRAFFIC in Viet Nam:
Tu, Nguyen Thi
WWF-Viet Nam
Email: tu.nguyenthi@wwfgreatermekong.org, Mob: +84 914419174

Brett Tolman
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia – Greater Mekong Programme
Email: brett.tolman@traffic.org, Mob: +84 1678020765

WWF International and TRAFFIC International:

Elisabeth McLellan
WWF International
Email: LMcLellan@wwfint.org,
Tel.: Mob : +41 79 212 9312

Richard Thomas
TRAFFIC International
Email: richard.thomas@traffic.org
Tel.: +44 752 6646 216

About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organisations, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

About TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

To learn more about WWF and TRAFFIC's campaign visit panda.org/killthetrade and follow us on Twitter @WWF_media, and www.facebook.com/vietnamWWF

Zimbabwe weighs cost of too many elephants

2012-10-23

A herd of elephants hobbles past a cluster of acacia trees to a water-hole deep in Zimbabwe's vast Hwange game reserve, attracted by the drone of generators pumping water round the clock into the pool.With the elephant population ballooning, wildlife authorities have resorted to using 45 generators, each consuming 200 litres (52 gallons) of diesel a week from June to November, to ensure the animals can get water. The strategy appears to be working. So far this year around 17 elephants have died in the area due to the extreme heat and lack of water, compared to 77 last year. "The elephants drink close to 90 percent of all the water (pumped) here," said Edwin Makuwe, an ecologist with the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority, "I think elephants now know that when they hear an engine running, chances are that there is water close by."But the water, while life-preserving, may be running against the flow of nature.
The 14,600-square-kilometre (5,600-square-mile) reserve is home to between 35,000 to 40,000 elephants, twice its capacity.The increase in the elephant population has led to higher demand for water at the park, home to over 100 different species of animals including the "Big Five": elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and the endangered rhinoceros.
Makuwe said the rise in the elephant population at the game reserve, established in 1949, had also led to the destruction of the environment."There is so much activity by the elephants that the vegetation has been affected negatively, the trees are no longer growing as fast as they should.""(The trees) are no longer producing as many seeds as they should. In the long term this will have a negative effect on the entire habitat of Hwange."He said the quality of the forage had gone down, with elephants stripping tree barks and digging roots for food."The African savanna is supposed to be a mosaic of trees and grasses. The moment you start to have more grasslands than trees it is not functioning as African savanna."Makuwe fears small animals and insects who live in the trees risk extinction."If you lose the trees and you are left with the grasslands, then definitely some of the species will be lost," he said.The authorities are yet to find a solution."Some people advocate to let nature take its course ... (but) we are yet to find a method which can convince all the people to accept and bring down the (elephant) population," Makuwe added.With tourists, who have shunned the country over the years, slowly returning, there is little incentive to cull the main attraction. In the meantime, Tom Milliken, of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said elephants in Hwange were suffering greatly due to the water shortages."This is the worst time of the year for elephants and we still have a month before the rains come," he told AFP. "Elephants have most stress this time of the year when there is no water."

By Reagan Mashavave | AFP

Countries fail to protect endangered species from illegal trade

2012-07-23

Geneva – Poor performances by key countries are threatening the survival of wild rhinos, tigers and elephants, a new WWF report has found. The analysis, released as governments gather in Geneva this week to discuss a range of issues related to wildlife trade, rates 23 of the top African and Asian nations facing high levels of poaching and trafficking in ivory, rhino horn and tiger parts.

The report, entitled Wildlife Crime Scorecard: Assessing Compliance with and Enforcement of CITES Commitments for Tigers, Rhinos and Elephants, examines of the many countries considered as range, transit or consumer countries for these species. It gives countries scores of green, yellow or red for each animal, as applicable, as an indicator of recent progress. WWF has found that illegal trade persists in virtually all 23 countries reviewed, but the scorecard seeks to differentiate between countries where it is actively being countered from those where current efforts are entirely inadequate.

Asian demand drives poaching

Among the worst performers is Viet Nam that received two red scores, for rhinos and tigers. Viet Nam is identified in the report as the top destination country for rhino horn, which has fuelled a poaching crisis in South Africa. A record 448 South African rhinos were killed for their horns in 2011 and the country, which itself receives a yellow for rhinos, has lost an additional 262 already this year. According to the report, many Vietnamese have been arrested or implicated in South Africa for acquiring rhino horns illegally, including Vietnamese diplomats.

"It is time for Viet Nam to face the fact that its illegal consumption of rhino horn is driving the widespread poaching of endangered rhinos in Africa, and that it must crack down on the illegal rhino horn trade. Viet Nam should review its penalties and immediately curtail retail markets, including Internet advertising for horn," said Elisabeth McLellan, Global Species Programme manager at WWF.

Inadequate enforcement of domestic ivory markets in China is also highlighted in the report. China receives a yellow score for elephants indicating a failure by the country to effectively police its legal ivory markets. "The ongoing flow of large volumes of illegal ivory to China suggests that such ivory may be moving into legal ivory trade channels," the report says.

China is urged to dramatically and consistently improve its enforcement controls for ivory and to communicate to Chinese nationals in Africa that anyone caught importing illegal wildlife products into China would be prosecuted, and if convicted, severely penalized.

Poaching crisis across Africa

Tens of thousands of African elephants are being killed by poachers each year for their tusks and China and Thailand are top destinations for illegal African ivory. Thailand receives a red score for its failure to close a legal loophole that makes it easy for retailers to sell ivory from poached African elephants.

"In Thailand, illegal African ivory is being openly sold in up-scale boutiques that cater to unsuspecting tourists. Governments will be taking up this troubling issue this week. So far Thailand has not responded adequately to concerns and, with the amount of ivory of uncertain origin in circulation, the only credible option at this stage is a ban on ivory trade," McLellan said.

Elephant poaching is at crisis levels in Central Africa, where rhinos were likely poached to extinction. Last year witnessed the elephant highest poaching rates across the continent since records began. Early this year hundreds of elephants were killed in a single incident in a Cameroon national park. "Given the escalation of elephant poaching in Africa and the increased levels of organized crime involved in the trade, it is clear that the situation is now critical," the report found.

Wildlife crime not only poses a threat to animals, but is a risk to people, territorial integrity, stability and rule of law. Regional cooperation is needed in Central Africa to counter the flows of illegal ivory and arms spilling across borders. WWF commends Central African governments for signing a regional wildlife law enforcement plan and urges them to make its implementation a top priority, allocating resources to the plan and improving the efficacy of prosecutions for those implicated in poaching or illegal trade.

"Although most Central African countries receive yellow or red scores for elephants, there are some encouraging signals. Last month Gabon burned its entire ivory stockpile, to ensure that no tusks would leak into illegal trade, and President Ali Bongo committed to both increasing protections in the country's parks and to ensuring that those committing wildlife crimes are prosecuted and sent to prison," said WWF Global Species Programme manager Wendy Elliott.

Best performers

Other bright spots from the report are green scores for India and Nepal for each of the three species groups. In 2011, Nepal celebrated a year without any rhino poaching incidents, which was largely attributed to improvements to anti-poaching and other law enforcement efforts.

WWF's Wildlife Crime Scorecard is being released as member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) hold their annual Standing Committee meeting. The conservation organization is set to launch a global campaign to fight illegal wildlife trade, which is putting the future of elephants, rhinos and tigers at risk. Learn more at panda.org/wildlifecrime.

AfDB and WWF to launch Africa Ecological Footprint Report

2012-05-31

Arusha, Tanzania: The African Development Bank (AfDB) and global conservation group WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) have launched today a joint report on the state of Africa's environment.

The Africa Ecological Footprint Report: Green Infrastructure for Africa's Ecological Security takes stock of the health of Africa's ecosystems, as well as trends in resources use patterns. It also lays out recommendations on implementing green development pathways for Africa.

This report is intended to stoke up thinking on greener development in Africa and to rally action by policy-makers and investors in the lead-up to Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place later this month in Brazil.

"Africa has choices", underlines AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka. "Embracing a more sustainable approach to development can generate benefits in terms of environmental security, human wellbeing, and increased competitiveness."

The Africa Ecological Footprint Report 2012 outlines two alarming trends, which if not addressed by policy-makers and investors are likely to lead to important social and economic impacts. First, by tracking the changes in wildlife populations as a proxy for ecosystem health, the Africa Living Planet Index shows a decline of nearly 40% in biodiversity in the last four decades. This decline reflects a degradation of the natural systems upon which Africa's current and future prosperity depends.

Second, rapid population growth and increasing prosperity are changing consumption patterns, with the result that Africa's ecological footprint – the area needed to generate the resources consumed by the people who live here – has been growing steadily. While Africa's total ecological footprint is set to double by 2040 in a business-as-usual scenario, the good news is that Africa is in an advantageous position to act. It is endowed with tremendous natural resources, which, if managed properly, will be able to meet the needs of a growing population. And its relatively low footprint may be maintained if forward-looking and large-scale solutions can be mobilised in the areas of renewable energy, urban planning, and sound management of forests, water and marine resources.

The opportunity and urgency to act to ensure adequate and equitable access to water, fuel and food in the coming decades is highlighted by Jim Leape, WWF Director General.

"Our ecological infrastructure – terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems – is as essential to human development as are industrial and social infrastructures such as roads, schools, hospitals and energy provision," said WWF's Jim Leape. "The Africa Ecological Footprint Report showcases successful and scalable initiatives across Africa in renewable energy, integrated water resource management, ecotourism and forest conservation. The report offers concrete recommendations for maintaining Africa's natural capital as the foundation for sustainable and inclusive development and I urge decision-makers to act on them."

Donald Kaberuka and Jim Leape launched the report together on 1 June as part of the AfDB's Annual Meetings in Arusha. The event, attended by AfDB senior staff, government ministers, NGO representatives, African business and financial leaders, and the African and international media, is intended to inspire interest and action from these key decision-makers. The report will also be featured at a side event of the Rio+20 conference in June.

AfDB and WWF formally entered into a partnership last July, agreeing to initially focus on three areas of cooperation: developing win-win partnerships with emerging economies and strengthening South-South cooperation; catalysing knowledge sharing and knowledge products for green growth and sustainable development; collaborating on energy and water resource management; and climate change. This report is the first joint product of this partnership.

With a recent tripling of its capitalisation to USD 100 billion, the AfDB is the most important multilateral institution financing development in Africa. As the continent faces rapid economic and population growth, and growing resource and climate pressures, the AfDB plays an essential role in ensuring sustainable and equitable development.

WWF is the world's largest environmental non-governmental organisation and has been active in Africa since its foundation more than 50 years ago. WWF works together with governments, businesses and local communities to deliver conservation and sustainable development worldwide.

To download the report, and to find out more, go to: www.panda.org/lpr/africa2012 or www.afdb.org.

Former WWF employee wins environmental prize for rhino conservation

2011-04-12

On April 11, 2011 the Goldman Environmental Foundation announced the 6 recipients of the 2011 Goldman Environmental Prize. This prize is awarded to grassroots environmental heroes from each of the world's six continents. Africa's winner this year was our very own, former WWF employee, Raoul Du Toit from the Lowveld Rhino Trust in Zimbabwe.

In 1988, Du Troit developed a WWF project to survey the status of black rhinos in the Zambezi Valley. Following this he assisted with the establishment of the Lowveld Rhino Conservancy Project for WWF Southern Africa Regional Programme Office, which ran up until 2009. In 2009, Raoul set up the Lowveld Rhino Trust (LRT) as an independent, stakeholder-based body to completely subsume the former Rhino Conservancy Project. LRT receives funding from various donors primarily via the International Rhino Foundation with a proportion of budget still provided by WWF through the Africa Rhino Programme.

Zimbabwe has the fourth largest rhino population in Africa. In 1992 there were 85 rhinos in the Lowveld conservancies in Zimbabwe. This was less than 5% of Zimbabwe's total rhino population. There are now 530 rhinos, which is 77% of Zimbabwe's total population. A total of 21 rhinos were poached in the Lowveld in 2010, compared to the 71 in 2009.

The Goldman Environmental Prize awards $150,000 to the 6 Heroes of the Environment. Du Troit stated at a press conference held at the WWF Zimbabwe Office that he is going to use the prize money to further develop the Lowveld Rhino Trust's work in particular with the communities in the lowveld in Zimbabwe. "We have fantastic animals in Africa that deserve to live and not be wiped out by greed. We have to save these animals for the future generations," Du Troit said.

WWF Zimbabwe has had a very close working relationship with Du Troit, who has been commonly referred to around WWF Zimbabwe office as, "Chipembere," which is the Shona (local language of Zimbabwe) word for rhino. We congratulate him for his outstanding service to the conservation of rhinos in Zimbabwe and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Release of rhino poachers exposes widespread enforcement failures

2010-03-02

Gland, Switzerland - The release of six alleged rhino poachers from custody two weeks before a meeting of the largest wildlife trade convention is emblematic of the chronic lack of political will to enact enforcement efforts required to save this endangered species.

A Zimbabwean court last week granted bail to six men arrested at Bubye Valley Conservancy, home to Zimbabwe's largest remaining rhino population, in connection with rhino poaching. Charges included illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of a rhino horn.

The incident, part of a surge in rhino poaching in Zimbabwe and South Africa, is made worse by a lack of enforcement support in Zimbabwe in particular.

As 175 countries prepare to meet to for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP 15) in Doha, on March 13, the increased poaching of rhinos and trade in rhino horns—compounded by failed enforcement efforts—is threatening to undermine conservation successes to date.

Most rhinos are listed in the Convention's Appendix I, which bans trade in their parts for commercial purposes. Countries participating in the CITES convention have been tasked with combating illegal trade in rhino horn.

"Zimbabwe's failure to live up to its obligations to CITES is unacceptable and has caused its already endangered rhino population to decline," said Colman O'Criodain, Wildlife Trade Analyst, WWF International. "The time has come for the CITES Parties collectively to decide how to address this failure."

This incident, coming so soon after Zimbabwe was specifically urged by the CITES Secretariat to tighten up its law enforcement to protect rhinos, will reduce Zimbabwe's ability to defend its wildlife management policies at the forthcoming CITES conference

Last year, rhino poaching worldwide hit a 15-year high due to increased demand for rhino horn. A recent report by TRAFFIC and IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, showed that since 2006, 95 percent of the poaching in Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The report also showed that the conviction rate for rhino crimes in Zimbabwe is only three percent.

WWF and TRAFFIC urge Zimbabwe, South Africa and all CITES Parties to uphold the commitments they have made as signatories to the Convention and dramatically improve law enforcement, including investigation of poaching incidents and prosecution of rhino crimes.

"Rhino poachers are currently operating in an environment where they are allowed to break the law without appropriate consequences," said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC. "This kind of ineffective law enforcement increasingly undermines the success of more than a decade's work of bringing rhinoceros populations in southern Africa back up to healthy levels."

Most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam, where demand has escalated in recent years.

Rhino poaching surges in Asia, Africa

2009-12-01

Geneva, Switzerland – Rhino poaching worldwide is on the rise, according to a new report by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The trade is being driven by Asian demand for horns and is made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers, who now are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos, the report states.

Since 2006 the majority (95 percent) of the poaching in Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa, according to new data.

"These two nations collectively form the epicentre of an unrelenting poaching crisis in southern Africa," said Tom Milliken of TRAFFIC.

The report, which was submitted to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) ahead of its 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15) in March, documents a decline in law enforcement effectiveness and an increase in poaching intensity in Africa. The situation is most serious in Zimbabwe where rhino numbers are now declining and the conviction rate for rhino crimes in Zimbabwe is only three percent. Despite the introduction of a number of new measures, poaching and illicit horn trade in South Africa has also increased.

"Concerted action at the highest level is needed to stop this global crisis of rampant rhino poaching," said Amanda Nickson, Director of the Species Programme at WWF International. "We call on the countries of concern to come to COP 15 in March with specific actions they have undertaken to show their commitment to stopping this poaching and protecting rhinos in the wild."

The report also raises concerns regarding the low and declining numbers as well as the uncertain status of some of the Sumatran and Javan rhino populations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

"Sumatran and Javan rhino range countries need to increase efforts to better assess the current status of many of their rhino populations - to enhance field law enforcement efforts - prevent further encroachment and land transformation in rhino areas - and improve biological management of remaining rhinos to ensure the few remaining Sumatran and Javan Rhino numbers increase," said Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group

Most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam, and also China. The report highlights Vietnam as a country of particular concern – noting that Vietnamese nationals operating in South Africa have recently been identified in rhino crime investigations. In addition, concern has been expressed about the status of Vietnam's single Javan rhino population.

However, the report does note that in some areas populations of rhinos are increasing.

"Where there is political will, dedicated conservation programs and good law enforcement, rhino numbers have increased in both Africa and Asia," said Dr Richard Emslie, Scientific Officer of IUCN's African Rhino Specialist Group.

IUCN's Rhino Specialist Groups and TRAFFIC were mandated to produce the report by CITES. The data collection and report writing for the report was partially funded by WWF and partners.

Poachers walk free as assault on Zimbabwe rhinos escalates

2008-09-25

Harare, Zimbabwe: A breakdown in law enforcement against rhino poaching and horn smuggling in Zimbabwe is threatening the success of more than a decade's work bringing rhino populations back up to healthy levels.

Typical of the problem is the recent release of a gang of four Zimbabwean rhino poachers who admitted to killing 18 rhinos in five different areas of central Zimbabwe, including a semi-tame group of black rhinos slaughtered in their pens at Imire Safari Ranch.

The poachers, also alleged to have been involved in a number of armed robberies and arrested with several illegal firearms, were initially denied bail and it was reported that the four had received lengthy jail sentences. However, WWF was recently informed by authorities that the poachers were subsequently granted bail, were freed and immediately absconded.

Rhino poaching has been increasing throughout Zimbabwe including in the Lowveld Conservancies in southern Zimbabwe, home to three-quarters of the country's surviving rhinos and host to a rhino conservation project involving WWF, the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe, the private sector and several other conservation agencies including the International Rhino Foundation.

"Since January 2000, approximately 70 rhinos have been killed in the Lowveld conservancies, and the losses are now rapidly mounting," said Raoul du Toit, Lowveld rhino conservation project manager for the Lowveld Conservancies. "About 20 rhinos were shot in the Lowveld during 2008, which points to how this problem is escalating,

"Prior to 2000, for a period of seven years, there was no rhino poaching whatsoever."

When the poaching first flared up, it was linked to the unplanned occupations of sections of the Lowveld Conservancies by subsistence farmers and primarily involved rhinos getting caught in wire snares that were set out to catch wildlife for meat consumption.

Now the poaching has reached commercial levels, with poachers not only killing rhinos in snares but also shooting them for their horns, without taking the meat.

"WWF and other non-government organisations involved in rhino conservation maintain very constructive relations with the Zimbabwean wildlife authorities," says du Toit, "But there is growing frustration over Zimbabwe's poor performance in law enforcement for rhino crimes, which inevitably gives rise to concerns about corruption."

Although a few poachers from Zambia have been arrested and convicted after cross-border raids into National Parks in northern Zimbabwe, not a single Zimbabwean poacher has been convicted during the current wave of internal rhino poaching.

The few Zimbabwean poachers arrested, have subsequently been released on bail, (equivalent to a few American cents), and have then absconded, or have evaded prosecution in the courts.

"The lack of enforcement and increased poaching pressure in Zimbabwe now threaten to reverse the excellent trends in rhino populations of recent years," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF-International's Species Programme. "WWF calls on the authorities in Zimbabwe to take much stronger action against the internal poaching networks or the recent progress made in rhino conservation in Zimbabwe will be lost."

Tom Milliken, the Regional Director of TRAFFIC's programme in east and southern Africa, warns: "In terms of the CITES treaty on wildlife trade, Zimbabwe is now in the spotlight and an international task force will be visiting shortly to investigate its performance in rhino conservation.

"TRAFFIC has sponsored initiatives to improve the country's law enforcement capabilities, but sadly most investigations appear to have collapsed without successful prosecutions."

Further information please see the press release here

China gets green light to buy ivory

2008-07-15

China has been approved as a buyer of African Elephant ivory in a one-off sale from four southern African countries, probably later this year.

The decision was taken to accept China at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva, Switzerland.

To gain approval, China had to convince CITES it had put in place adequate measures to manage regulated sales and tackle any illegal domestic ivory trade.

"China has acted rather successfully against its own illegal domestic ivory market," said Tom Milliken of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network which operates the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) on behalf of CITES.

"Now China should help other countries do the same, especially in Central Africa where elephant poaching is rampant and Chinese nationals have been implicated in moving ivory out of the region."

China thus joins Japan in having CITES approval to bid in the one-off sale for registered government-owned ivory stockpiles from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The ivory to be sold originates from elephants that died from natural causes or as a result of population management (e.g. problem animal control). None of the ivory is from elephants deliberately killed to obtain their ivory.

A massive illegal trade in ivory caused dramatic declines in many elephant populations in Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, and an international ban on trade in ivory came into effect in January 1990.

"The sight of ivory openly and illegally on sale in many African cities is likely to be a far more powerful encouragement to those contemplating poaching and smuggling than a strictly controlled one-off sale," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International's Species Programme.

"The only way to end elephant poaching is through an effective clampdown on illegal domestic ivory markets."

Since the CITES trade ban, international commercial trade in ivory has legally taken place only once, in 1997, when a one-off sale of raw ivory was approved for Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

The African Elephant range states who export ivory are required by CITES to use the revenue derived from the sale exclusively for elephant conservation and community development programmes within or adjacent to the elephant ranges.

Population increase recorded for rhinos in Zimbabwe's Lowveld despite poaching

2008-07-02

Raoul du Toit, manager for WWF's Rhino Conservation project in the Lowveld conservancies, reports an annual increase of about 10 percent of the rhino's population in those conservancies during 2007 despite greater poaching pressure that accounted for the deaths of 14 black rhinos in the Save Valley, Bubiana and Chiredzi districts.

"There has been a record increase of black rhinos in the Lowveld conservancies over the past six months, from 370 in June 2007 to the current population of 388. The population of the white rhino now stands at about 135," said du Toit.

These figures are derived from close monitoring of the populations, through ground-tracking and individual recognition of ear-notched rhinos, supplemented by radio-tracking, on a more intensive basis than is undertaken for most large, free-ranging rhino populations in Africa.

"Hands-on rhino conservation is also being implemented on an intensive basis, with 96 black rhino and 28 white rhino drug-dartings having been undertaken in the Lowveld conservancies during 2007 with project staff, equipment and funding for various security-related and management-related reasons."

Ongoing technical advice has been provided to facilitate the elaboration of policy on wildlife-based land reform, through constructive dialogue with officials of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and other stakeholders.

However, this has not yet translated into meaningful progress on the ground in resolving unplanned settlement in dry areas that are unsuited to small-scale farming. These land-use conflicts have stimulated poaching, which threatens to undermine the gains in the Lowveld rhino population.

Several NGOs that are involved in supporting rhino conservation in Zimbabwe, including WWF, recently put together a document to detail their concerns about the growing rhino poaching menace.

One welcome response of Zimbabwe's Ministry of the Environment was to convene an emergency workshop of stakeholders in December last year, with WWF facilitation, to draw up an emergency action plan to tackle the threat.

The Lowveld conservancies have remained Zimbabwe's primary rhino breeding areas despite land invasions (leading to snaring risks and loss of habitats) and economic problems associated with the national situation. By the end last year, the conservancies contained 73 percent of Zimbabwe's remaining black rhino population and 45 percent of the national white rhino population.

To maintain this situation, and to also allow other rhino populations in the country to recover, the various NGOs who are involved in the rhino conservation effort are pressing for speedy implementation of the anti-poaching action plan.

This plan includes measures such as dehorning rhinos, along with the improvement of basic law-enforcement and gathering of intelligence through the formation of district-level coordination committees involving government authorities and conservancies.

The importance of this coordination has been demonstrated through the recent arrest of one rhino poacher in Save Valley Conservancy.

More of Africa urged to boost rhino numbers

2008-03-14

KwaZulu Natal, South Africa – After bringing Africa's black rhinos spectacularly back from the brink of extinction one of the world's most successful conservation programmes is to celebrate its first decade by seeking to extend its operations to more of Africa.

Representatives of the governments of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia are expected to join in WWF's African Rhino Programme (ARP) 10th anniversary celebration in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, today. They will join government and wildlife representatives, community representatives and eco-tourism operators from the current ARP participating States of in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

"What we have shown is that in partnership with governments and communities and business it is possible to stave off extinction for the rhino in some of its former range," said WWF International's Species Programme Director Dr Susan Lieberman. "The task now is to secure a future for the rhino in the rest of its range, where threats from poaching and development urgently need to be addressed."

Africa's savannas once teemed with more than a million white and black rhinos. However, relentless hunting by European settlers saw rhino numbers and distribution quickly decline. The southern white rhino was close to extinction by the late 19th century but concerted conservation efforts by KwaZulu Natal and others has led to a significantly larger population.

Added to hunting and habitat loss, trade in rhino horn peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, when huge quantities were shipped to the lucrative markets of the Middle East and Asia.

Responding to the crisis, both species of African rhino were listed in 1977 in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibited all international trade of rhino parts and products. Despite this international legal protection, the black rhino population at its lowest point dipped to 2,400 in 1995.

In 1997, there were 8,466 white rhinos and 2,599 black rhinos remaining in the wild. Today, there are 14,500 white rhinos and nearly 4,000 of the more endangered black rhinos.

Today, most of Africa's black rhinos are found in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, where the species' decline has been stopped through effective security monitoring, better biological management, wildlife-based tourism and extensive assistance to enable communities to benefit from rather than be in conflict with wildlife.

According to the African Rhino Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Africa's white and black rhino numbers have shown annual growth rates of 6.8 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively, since 1995.

"What we know from looking back at the last ten years is that sustained conservation can and does work," says George Kampamba, WWF International's African Rhino Programme Coordinator.

Although WWF has worked on Rhino conservation throughout its 45-year history, the ARP was notable for its overall approach. Working through field projects, it combined action at every level from local communities to global policy.

One striking, if unanticipated, indicator of the success of the programme is that land prices immediately increase in areas where rhinos are re-introduced through a range expansion program. The ARP, which has had experience reintroducing rhinos to national parks, also passed a milestone last year when a KwaZulu Natal community received black rhinos for community-owned land dedicated to wildlife and ecotourism uses.

"Rhino conservation in Africa is going from strength to strength," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF's Global Species Programme. "But poaching, illegal trade, and unplanned development remain significant problems across the rhinos' range and there is no room for complacency."

In celebration of a decade of rhino conservation, WWF honoured six leaders as "rhino champions" today at Pongola Game Reserve in KwaZulu Natal. "These rhino champions have made extraordinary contributions to rhino conservation," Dr Lieberman said.

The champions are:.

Emmanuel-Cebo Gumbi (known as "Nathi Gumbi") director Somkhanda Game Reserve and member of the Gumbi royal family

Kevin John Pretorius, regional director for Phinda Game Reserve

Clive Vivier, owner Leopold Mountain Game Reserve

Manfred Kohrs, former chairman Pongola Game Reserve Association

Dr Jacques Flammand, project leader WWF/Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Black Rhino Range Expansion Project.

Taye Teferi, conservation director of WWF's East Africa Regional Program

Jackson Kamwi, Senior Rhino Monitor at the Lowveld Conservancy Project, Zimbabwe

See under media releases for further information and contact details

Upsurge in rhino poaching in Zimbabwe

2007-12-21

There has been an alarming upsurge in armed poaching of endangered rhinos primarily in the "Lowveld Conservancies" in South Eastern Zimbabwe over the past three years, according to WWF, the international conservation organization.

Since 2000, 22 black rhinos have been shot in the Lowveld Conservancies in addition to 45-50 black rhinos that have been shot by poachers in other conservancies.

A conservancy is formed by a group who pool their resources to conserve wildlife, adopt good land use practices and have a stake, ownership and responsibility for the land and resources.

"The declining economy in has fuelled the loss of jobs, particularly on commercial farms and created an environment that's conducive to poaching," believes Raoul du Toit, Project Executant, Lowveld Rhinoceros Project, WWF - Southern Africa Regional Programme Office.

As well as targeted poaching of individual animals, there have been more than 66 cases of rhino caught in snares and sometimes fatally injured in the Lowveld conservancies since 2000.

This is a marked increased since the initiation of Zimbabwe's "fast-track" land resettlement programme Available records show that no black rhinos were poached in that area between 1993-2000.

Since 2000, people have been allowed settle into conservancies and enforcement of anti-poaching controls has been relaxed. According to WWF, a secondary knock on effect has been an increase of poaching of other wildlife.

As a way to combat the poaching surge, WWF, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, with funding provided by other partners and agencies, is now stepping up its drive to protect the country's black rhinos.

"Through the Lowveld Rhino Project we intensified monitoring of rhinos using skilled trackers and radiotelemetry. We moved rhinos from unsafe areas, dehorned some of the most at risk rhinos and collaborated in setting up rapid reaction units, community awareness programmes and gave technical support to develop options for wildlife-based land reform" says Raoul du Toit.

Despite the effects of poaching, this holistic approach has enabled the Lowveld rhino populations to achieve some of the highest growth rates ever recorded, up to 10 per cent per year. Two of the conservancy established populations have surpassed the 100 mark.

Currently, Lowveld boasts of 375 black rhinos – about 10 per cent of the world's wild population.

Due to the creation of the conservancies, a number of property owners have now converted to wildlife. Through the support of the landowners, black rhino conservation has contributed immensely to maintaining and improving biodiversity in these areas as well as helping conserve other species such buffalo, elephant, wildebeest and leopard.

"We're consolidating an approach that we know works but if we're not proactive and cautious, poaching could flare up to such an extent that it could reverse the rhino population gains that have been achieved in Zimbabwe since the mid 1990s," warns Raoul du Toit.
For further information :
Raoul du Toit, Project Executant, Lowveld Rhinoceros Project,
WWF - Southern Africa Regional Programme Office
Email : RDutoit@wwfsarpo.org

George Kampamba, WWF African Rhino Coordinator
Email : Gkampamba@wwfsarpo.org

CITES: Elephant ivory deadlock broken

2007-06-14

The Hague, The Netherlands – African elephant range countries attending a meeting of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have agreed to a nine-year suspension of ivory trading.

The international wildlife convention also agreed to allow four southern African countries to sell stocks of their ivory.

"This consensus is a milestone in elephant history," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF Global Species Programme.

"This is the first time in more than 18 years that opposing factions are now speaking with one voice to move this debate forward."

The suspension will take effect after a previously approved "one-off" sale of ivory goes through.

Zambia and Chad presented a compromise document on behalf of all African countries with elephant populations, detailing an increase in the one-off sale of ivory to include ivory from stockpiles from Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe if registered by 31 January 2007.

Despite the controversy surrounding "one off" ivory sales and ivory trade suspensions, the real and substantive issues, according to WWF and TRAFFIC are illegal domestic ivory markets, both in Africa and Asia.

"Unfortunately, time ran out at the conference to effectively deal with the critical threat to elephants in the wild – poaching and illegal domestic ivory markets," Dr Lieberman added.

The ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) analysis reveals that key problem countries for illegal ivory are: Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Thailand and China.

"We are looking for real conservation achievement on the ground," said Tom Milliken, Director of TRAFFIC in South and East Africa.

"Let countries now take this spirit of goodwill and tackle the ivory that is being haemorrhaged illegally from West and Central Africa."

For more information:
Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Tel: +31 634 163140
E-mail: jbenn@wwfspecies.org

Richard Thomas, Communications Coordinator
TRAFFIC International
Tel: +31 634 163625
E-mail: richard.thomas@trafficint.org

Alarming upsurge in rhino poaching in parts of Africa

2007-06-06

The Hague, The Netherlands – An increase in the volume of rhino horn entering illegal trade from Africa since 2000 could be placing some rhino populations at serious risk, according to WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Poaching is most severe in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 60 per cent of the rhino population was illegally killed between 2003 and 2005.

In Zimbabwe, poaching accounted for two-thirds of all rhino mortalities over the same period, affecting one in eight animals, and some key populations are in decline.

Both DRC and Zimbabwe have the poorest record for seizing rhino horns in the illegal trade, with just 13 per cent and 8 per cent of lost horns recovered in DRC and Zimbabwe, respectively, between 2000 and 2005. Across Africa, law enforcement agencies recovered 42 per cent of horns entering illegal trade.

Rhino horns are shipped to illegal markets, mainly in Asia and the Middle East, where they are used as traditional medicines and to make traditional dagger handles. East and South-east Asia and Yemen are important destinations, and trade appears to be on the increase since 2000.

According to TRAFFIC, this matches a switch to commercial rhino poaching which targets horn in Kenya, Zimbabwe and DRC.

"The situation in DRC and Zimbabwe is a particular concern," said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC. "It tallies with an increase in the organization of criminal horn trading networks operating in Africa."

The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has called for better cross-border collaboration between countries along smuggling routes. Secure management of horn stocks has also proved important to prevent horns leaking to the illegal market.

As a result of such measures, some African countries, such as Swaziland and Namibia, have achieved considerable success in combating poaching and the associated illegal trade. And despite poaching and illegal trade, rhino populations overall in Africa are increasing.

"This population increase is of course very encouraging," said Dr Sue Lieberman, Director of WWF's Global Species Programme. "But better law enforcement and protection measures are still needed for African rhinos, particularly in the DRC and Zimbabwe."

For more information:
Richard Thomas, Communications Coordinator
TRAFFIC International
Tel: +31 6 3416 3625
E-mail: richard.thomas@trafficint.org

Joanna Benn, Communications Manager
WWF Global Species Programme
Tel: +31 634 163140
E-mail: jbenn@wwfspecies.org

Human Wildlife Conflict Manual: Wildlife Management Series

2006-12-05

In community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programmes, local communities are co-managers of wildlife and earn direct benefits from wildlife. In such programmes conflict between people and wildlife is a frequent and ongoing problem. The expansion of human settlements into wildlife areas means that human-wildlife conflict is growing in many parts of Africa. In order to be successful and sustainable, wildlife-based CBNRM programmes have to address this conflict.

This manual is designed to guide local communities, wildlife managers, policy makers, and other people involved in community conservation, in ways to reduce human-wildlife conflict. It provides some background on the problem and gives specific examples of methods used to reduce human-wildlife conflict in Southern Africa. Examples from Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are supplied, where available, to demonstrate some of these options.

Community Based Natural Resource Management Manual

2006-12-05

This Manual has been written to provide an introduction to community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Southern Africa. Countries in Southern Africa are: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe. CBNRM is based on the principle that land and natural resources should be managed by those people who live with and depend on them. CBNRM does not involve wildlife only but other natural resources and community development as well. Hence aspects covered in this manual can be used by any community.

Factsheet: African Rhinoceros

2006-03-08

Just 150 years ago, Africa's savannas teemed with rhinos and other wildlife. However, relentless hunting by European settlers saw rhino numbers and distribution quickly decline. The southern white rhino particularly suffered from this colonization, and in the late 19th century was actually thought to be extinct.

Poaching escalated during the 1970s and 1980s as demand grew for rhino horn - a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines and a valued accessory in the Middle East. As a result, black rhino numbers declined by a staggering 96% between 1970 and 1992, and the northern white rhino population decreased from around 2,000 in 1960 to just 15 or so in 1984.

Thanks to vigorous conservation and anti-poaching efforts, some African rhino populations are now stable or increasing. However, poaching still occurs, and some populations remain very small and threatened. Very few African rhinos now survive outside of protected areas and sanctuaries.

Rhinos are 'flagship' species for their habitats - that is, charismatic representatives of the biodiversity within the complex ecosystems they inhabit. Because these large animals need a lot of space to survive, their conservation will help maintain biological diversity and ecological integrity over extensive areas and so help many other species.

WWF has been working to conserve rhinos for over 40 years. The current African Rhino Programme, launched in 1997, provides technical and financial support to 12 rhino conservation projects across Africa and operates in partnerships with key African rhino range states.