Preserving Black Rhinoceros In Namibia

AFRICAN Black Rhinos were listed on Appendix I of CITES in 1977 as a mechanism to ban the worldwide trade in rhino horns. The reason for the massive decline in black rhino populations prior to 1977 was the fact that there was no proper mechanism in place to protect rhinos from poachers.

Despite the ban on trade in rhino horn in 1977, black rhino populations in Africa dropped from roughly 65 000 in 1970 to 2 400 in 1995 and are still listed as critically endangered at present. Civil disorder and the free flow of weaponry in Africa affected rhino conservation efforts significantly. Black rhinoceros populations in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Somalia, Uganda and Sudan have suffered in many ways from the impacts of civil conflicts and wars since the 1960s. The negative effects of these conflicts are made worse when combined with the lack of conservation expenditure by some governments and the lack of political will.
Ever since 1995 however, the black rhino population started to recover under well managed protection in southern Africa and Kenya and there are now approximately 3 600 black rhinos remaining in Africa. Southern Africa and Namibia had been successful in saving white rhino populations up to the point that white rhinos had been downgraded to Appendix II of CITES. Black rhino populations are also recovering but have not yet reached minimum viable population levels.
Many countries such as Namibia which are endowed with a great amounts of biodiversity and have several species listed on CITES (Table 1; Cites Appendices) must try to successfully implement the CITES regulations through their regional and national management, enforcement and scientific authorities. The links between regional and the state CITES scientific and management authorities should be enhanced to ensure an efficient conservation process.
In particular, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Namibia should continue to demonstrate that it has the capacity to effectively monitor and protect rhino populations all over Namibia. The effective enforcement and implementation of CITES depends on whether respective countries have the correct CITES legislation in place and whether or not these countries have the political will to do so. From a Namibian perspective, I feel that we are doing everything in our power to save black rhinoceros populations and I commend the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, together with its stakeholders in promoting this cause.

Itaveleni Joseph Mupewa
Mupewa Environmental Consultants

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