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All Rhino Species |
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Meeting in Tanzania, May 2000. I am pleased to report that the 2000 AfRSG meeting was successfully held at Lake Manyara, Tanzania, 27 May to 1 June, with 41 delegates attending or all of the sessions.
As the AFRSG Chair, I introduced and welcomed the members to the year 2000 AfRSG meeting. Mr Emmanuel Severre, the director of the Tanzanian Wildlife Division, officially opened the meeting. The members spent a good portion of the first day presenting individual country reports, concluding the day with updates of the status of Asian rhinos and of African rhinos in captivity. The Group Secretariat has compiled the latest continental statistics from data supplied at the meeting. These figures place the current population of the white rhino in the wild at approximately 10,400 and that of the black rhino at 2700. Therefore, African rhino numbers have exceeded 13,000 for the first time since the mid-1980s. IUCN and WWF jointly issued a press release to publicize this news. For further details on rhino numbers and trends, see the report by the scientific officer in this issue in the section 'Notes from the African Rhino Specialist Group'.
Presentations at the meeting included discussions on TRAF'FIC's rhino horn trade program, rhino horn in Yemen, the CITES indicators process, sustainable use options for surplus black rhinos, and a plenary discussion on consumptive use of rhino products. Presentations on techniques and rhino ecology included the use of ultrasonography as a tool for wild rhino management, a detailed presentation on the WWF-funded AfRSG horn fingerprinting project, an update on the determinants of black rhino carrying capacities and productivity, a population case history, and a paper on black rhino diet selection. Members were also briefed on the new SADC rhino program being funded by the Italian government and the work of WWF's Africa Rhino Program, the US Fish and Wildlife's Rhino and Tiger Conservation Fund, the International Rhino Foundation and the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
The working group assigned the critical area of conserving the surviving western black rhinos (Diceros bicomis longipes) in Cameroon discussed and evaluated strategic options. The group developed proposals for a high-level technical mission to Cameroon and determined the background documentation needed for such a mission. Other working groups discussed the following:
- a cooperative funding strategy for AfRSG
- effects of immobilization on rhino fertility
- existing knowledge and future research needs
- indicators for assessing rhino population performance
- the impact of community conservation initiatives, determined by examining case studies
A formal closed meeting restricted to AfRSG members was also held.
Delegates visited Ngorongoro Crater where a senior staff member from the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Authority showed them around. They saw eight of the black rhinos in the crater and learned of several aspects of the local rhino program, especially security and monitoring. The visit included an examination of the bomas that had been used to introduce new blood from Addo.
Outside the formal sessions, delegates had a chance to network and discuss problems-which is always one of the main benefits of AFRSG meetings. One evening, delegates also watched the new video that AfRSG had produced as part of its revised rhino identification course for field rangers. An impromptu workshop was also held to discuss and modify a Kenyan project proposal that had been submitted for funding to the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Fund of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
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African Rhino Specialist Group report
File available
details
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