Increasing alarm for
the fate of the two rarest rhinoceros species,
and growing concern over the increased illegal
hunting of rhinos and demand for rhino horn
affecting all five species, has prompted
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia
to declare 5 June 2012 as the start of the
International Year of the Rhino.
President Yudhoyono
took this step at the request of conservation
organisations, because the future survival
of both the Javan and Sumatran rhinos depends
on effective conservation action in Indonesia.
"WWF offers its
full support for the commitment made by
Indonesia's president to secure a future
for the country's critically endangered
rhinos,” says Dr Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia.
“There is an urgent
need to decrease pressures on habitats and
to establish a second Javan rhino population
in a safer and suitable location. This will
be a big endeavour that will require true
leadership from government and critical
partnerships among scientists, conservation
organizations and local communities.”
The government of Indonesia
has also made commitments to establish a
high-level rhino task force of national
and international experts; allocate sufficient
resources to enforce protection of remaining
rhino populations, and ensure that there
is regular and intensive monitoring of all
rhino populations in Indonesia.
In the last decade,
two rhino subspecies, the western black
rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) in
Cameroon and the Indochinese Javan rhinoceros
(Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) in Vietnam
have gone extinct.
Today, the populations
of two more subspecies, the northern white
rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) and
the mainland population of the Sumatran
rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotus),
both listed as critically endangered on
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,
are perilously close to extinction because
of an increase in illegal hunting and non-traditional
use of rhino horn.
During this International
Year of the Rhino, it is hoped that all
rhino range states in Africa and Asia will
join Indonesia and give priority to securing
their rhino populations.
There are ambitions
to bring illegal hunting and trade, especially
the illegal trade of rhino horn, under control
by ensuring that effective deterrents are
in place and enforced. It is also hoped
that measures that encourage a rapid growth
in rhino numbers will be taken. In Indonesia,
extra action will be taken to translocate
isolated individuals to actively managed
protected areas and improve rhino habitats
by removing invasive plant species and providing
additional sources of water.
“Strong and clear political
messages from the highest possible levels
are required to combat the illegal killing
and trade in rhino and the message coming
from the president is loud and clear,"
said John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General
of CITES.
"We hope that this
bold initiative by Indonesia will serve
as a catalyst for further high-level political
support and commitments to protect the rhino
in the wild across all concerned states"
Effective conservation
by governments in Africa and Asia, in some
cases with the support of WWF, has been
successful in bringing back the southern
white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum),
black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and
Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
from the brink of extinction.
It is clear that highly-focused
management and improved conservation measures
can lead to increases in the populations
of rhinos, and it is now urgent that this
is also implemented for the Javan and Sumatran
rhinos, as the Indonesian president has
stated.
+ More
Scotland launches climate
justice fund
Edinburgh, Scotland:
The Government of Scotland took a major
step forward in facing up to its historic
responsibility for climate change by launching
an international Climate Justice Fund.
The new fund, which
has been welcomed by WWF and others in civic
society, will help people living in some
of the world's poorest countries affected
by the changing climate - such as more frequent
and severe droughts and floods .
The fund was a key demand
of WWF Scotland's campaign for national
climate legislation in 2007-2009 and of
its election campaign activities in 2011.
One of a series of initiatives
ahead of the Rio+20 summit in June, the
Scottish Government is providing £3
million (UK pounds) for the fund - one million
per year for the next three years - which
will support water projects in Malawi, Rwanda,
Tanzania and Zambia - increasing communities'
resilience to the impacts of climate change.
At the launch, a short
film was released highlighting support for
climate justice from across Scottish society.
It includes endorsements from many organisations,
including WWF, development and faith groups.
Director of WWF Scotland,
Dr Richard Dixon said:
"It is those countries
least responsible for the pollution that
currently face the greatest threats from
climate change. Building on Scotland's world-leading
targets for our own emissions, the Climate
Justice Fund demonstrates our awareness
that we, like every other industrialised
countries, also need to better help developing
nations cope with the climate change we
have caused.
"It is only because
of the original Rio conference that we have
international action on climate, forests
and nature, so we hope Rio+20 helps to refocus
the minds of world leaders on the continuing
need to act."
Scotland's First Minister
Alex Salmond said:
"The huge injustice
of climate change is that it is those who
have done the least to cause the problem
- the most vulnerable from the world's poorest
communities - who are hardest hit by it.
That is why Scotland is committed to supporting
climate justice and why we are launching
Scotland's Climate Justice Fund.
"In launching this
fund we are all too aware that one country
cannot win the battle against climate change
alone. Collective action is not an option
but an imperative, and we need to ensure
our actions and our message inspires others
to act."
