Planet Earth
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LOOMING DOOM: Rhino Horn Demand Leads to Record Poaching |
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Real danger looms for the animal, hunted for its horn which is reputed to make a powerful aphrodisiac especially in the east. The rhino has been decimated in Vietnam to zero level, while in Indonesia, less than fifty remain, a grim scenario
More rhinos have been killed in South Africa in the past 10 months than were killed in all of 2010, new poaching numbers reveal. Statistics from South Africa National Parks show that 341 animals have been lost to poaching so far in 2011, compared to a record total of 333 last year. South Africa’s grim milestone comes on the heels of an announcement by WWF recently that rhinos have gone extinct in Vietnam. The carcass of Vietnam’s last Javan rhino was found with a gunshot wound and without its horn.
At a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) last year, the international community concluded that the increase in rhino poaching has been caused largely by demand for horn products in Vietnam. Law enforcement efforts, while increasing, are not yet sufficient to protect rhinos from poachers or stop the smuggling and sale of their horns by organised crime rings.
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HEAVE HO! New Momentum for Mau Restoration |
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 Landmark three-year project funded by European Union launched to promote conservation and sustainable livelihoods also plans to create new agency to oversee management of key water towers, writes PAUL UDOTO
The drive to restore the Mau Forests Complex has received a landmark €2.3 million (Sh280 million) boost from the European Union. A new institution to oversee the conservation of all the key water towers in Kenya is in the pipeline, revealed the Prime Minister Rt Hon Raila Odinga. Already, a new fund called the Water Towers Conservation Fund has been gazetted. The Fund will support the restoration, conservation and sustainable management of the Mau Forests Complex and the other water towers in an equitable, efficient and transparent manner.
“We can no longer argue about the wisdom of investing in the conservation of our forests. We cannot carry on business as usual without paying a very heavy price,” Odinga said.
The three-year intervention is expected to deliver multiple benefits for Kenya and the region, ranging from the restoration of vital water catchments and the establishment of payments for environmental services; to improving the livelihoods of local communities and monitoring carbon storage in the Mau Forest.
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