Gabarone - The German conservation group NABU International Foundation for Nature has warned that policy decisions based on erroneous assumptions about the rhino horn trade could result in “significant adverse consequences” for the conservation of wild rhino.
In a new report titled “Pointless: A quantitative assessment of supply and demand in rhino horn and a case against trade”, NABU International head of endangered species conservation Dr Barbara Maas said after studying various rhino horn supply and demand scenarios they concluded that if the horn trade were legalised demand from the Chinese and Vietnamese markets alone would wipe out the global rhino population in a few years, as it far outstripped possible supplies from 141 tonnes of horn carried by the world’s remaining rhino.
“The debate about whether legalised rhino horn trade might benefit rhino conservation has produced an abundance of academic and other publications, which include a large number of theory-based analyses. A quantitative appraisal of supply and demand has so far been lacking. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of the relationship between rhino horn supply and demand.
“Scrutinising a variety of different supply and demand scenarios it illustrates the significant discrepancy between the reservoir of approximately 141 tonnes of horn carried by the world’s remaining rhino and those in South Africa and the two main consumer markets in Vietnam and China… Policy decisions about trade in rhino horn, if based on erroneous assumptions, risk significant adverse consequences for wild rhino, as well as adverse downstream effects on the bio-diversity of their habitat,” Maas said in the report summary.
The foundation noted that rhino across the world were under siege from poachers, illegal traffickers, national and international criminal networks, art collectors, status and pleasure seekers, medical patients, and financial speculators intent on cashing in on their increasing rarity. According to NABU International estimates, at least 1342 rhino were killed by poachers in Africa in 2015, marking the highest annual fatality record since 2006.
According to the report, a single standard rhino horn prescription of three grams, nine grams, and 50 grams administered to 3.8 percent, 1.3 percent, and 0.2 percent respectively of the current adult populations of China and Vietnam would consume the horn mass of the entire surviving global rhino population of 29,324 if the rhino horn trade were to be legalised.
Further, the report found that South Africa’s 6014 privately-owned white rhino could service a mere 0.97 percent, 0.32 percent, and 0.06 percent of the Vietnamese and Chinese adult population with a single prescription of three grams, nine grams, and 50 grams of rhino horn respectively. Horns derived from regular de-horning of South Africa’s 6014 privately owned white rhino would provide only a single average prescription for adults in China and Vietnam.
“These simple calculations support the notion that lifting the ban on commercial rhino horn trade is likely to facilitate the extinction of rhino rather than support their survival. Illegal rhino horn trade is an international problem that requires a well-coordinated global response comprising a genuine commitment to strong legislation, uncompromising enforcement, and creative demand reduction initiatives,” the foundation concluded.
African News Agency