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World |
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Organisations |
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All Rhino Species |
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Chairman's report. SADC Rhino Programme
The inception phase of the Italian-funded SADC Rhino programme established the administrative and consultative framework for operations, and identified specific rhino con- servation projects to be funded over the next six months. A Range State Planning Meeting was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in March 2000 to discuss the programme and ensure participation of the various stakeholders and the recruitment of a full-time programme coordinator, the latter likely to be effective from June. The next phase of the programme will involve a review of the legal and policy frameworks in each range state, an evaluation of radio collars used in the region towards developing a really effective technique, assisting in the development of appropriate rhino databases, and assistance with the development of projects by the range states that can be considered for funding. The accent of the entire programme is on developing structures, processes and strategies that have a regional significance, and that will facilitate the implementation of improved rhino conservation programmes. The effects should be lasting, and not of an ephemeral non-sustainable nature. The African Rhino Specialist Group's (AFRSG) main role in the Consortium is to provide technical advice and to recommend on the suitability of proposed projects within the continental and regional contexts.
Action Plan
The long awaited 'Status survey and conservation action plan : African rhino' was published by IUCN in late 1999, and the AfRSG's Scientific Officer, Dr the Hon. Richard Emslie, is to be commanded on an excellent product. I should like to thank the various AFRSG and IUCN staff members who contributed so energetically and productively towards the final version.
Cameroon's Black Rhino
The last known remaining population of the Western African black rhino Diceros bicomis longipes continues to be the focus of attention with IUCN France, WWF and the AFRSG actively pursuing a solution with the Cameroon government. The specialist group and IUCN France are busy compiling background documentation for a workshop to be held in Cameroon soon after mid-year. The documents summarise the history and population trends of this critically endangered population, and outline a number of potential conservation strategies for consideration. As numbers are deemed to be well below 20, this may well be the last opportunity to save the subspecies from extinction.
AfRSG Meeting
At the time of drafting this report, the final arrangements for the AFRSG meeting scheduled for 27 May - 1 June 2000 at Lake Manyara, Tanzania, were being finalised. Apart from the usual reports from the range States on their rhino conservation programmes, the meeting will review the status of all Africa's rhino populations (numbers will be reported in Pachyderm 29), report on technological advances, expose members to rhino support programmes, and workshop a number of key issues and strategies. The latter include a preliminary evaluation of the institutional and conservation models for Cameroon's black rhino, the further development of indicators for assessing black rhino performance, the potential effects of immobilisation on rhino fecundity, and the development of a funding strategy for the core activities of the AfRSG secretariat.
Acknowledgements
The continued support of WWF-SA for the Chairman's expenses and of WWF International for supporting the Scientific Officer's position and specific projects as well as covering the costs of the AFPSG meeting is very much appreciated. We also acknowledge the financial assistance that US Fish and Wildlife Service provides to the Scientific Officer's position.
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African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG)
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