27/06/2005 Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania – More effective standards to manage
stockpiles of rhino horns in Africa are
needed in order to prevent the coveted commodity
from ending up as illegal trade, according
to a new report.
Rhino horn is highly prized in traditional
Asian medicine where it is often ground
into a fine powder or manufactured into
tablets as a treatment for a variety of
illnesses. It is also used to manufacture
the handles of prestigious daggers in the
Middle East, particularly in Yemen.
The report, Rhino Horn Stockpile Management:
Minimum Standards and Best Practices from
East and Southern Africa, provides guidelines
on necessary measures to ensure that every
horn is properly marked, registered, secured,
as well as appropriate documentation and
protocols are in place.
Building on years of awareness-raising
activities, African rhino range States have
recently declared their rhino horn stockpile
volumes, levels of seizures, and poaching
incidents – a testimony to improved transparency,
management, and increased knowledge at the
national level. A total of almost 18 tonnes
of rhino horn have been documented in east
and southern Africa.
“Encouraging results are now being witnessed
in a number of rhino range countries,"
said Simon Milledge, Deputy Director of
TRAFFIC East/Southern Africa.
“However, implementation of minimum standards
and consistent use of register databases
are needed. Improved management of stockpiles
translates into a reduced risk of horns
reaching illegal markets.”
Improvements in stockpile management practices
have been recorded by nine management authorities
in five countries so far, including the
three largest African rhino range countries
– South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
TRAFFIC is continuing to engage with governments
and the private sector at national and provincial
levels to press for greater controls over
not only private sector horn registration,
but also the sale, movement, and hunting
of live rhinos on private property. Efforts
will also focus on assisting governments
throughout the region to apply minimum standards
and best practices.
TRAFFIC hopes that the tools developed
and tested in east and southern Africa will
be useful elsewhere in the world where significant
horn stockpiles are also known to exist,
such as India, Nepal, Yemen, China, and
Taiwan.
END NOTES:
• TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring
network – a joint programme of WWF and IUCN–The
World Conservation Union – works to ensure
that trade in wild plants and animals is
not a threat to the conservation of nature.
• TRAFFIC has developed a freely available
Access-based Rhino Horn Stockpile Database,
which includes information from 13 conservation
agencies from seven countries in the African
region.
