RHINO POACHING - AN ALARMING ISSUE

RHINO POACHING - AN ALARMING  ISSUE   

-Dr. Debasish Mukherjee - Eminent Advocate and Nature Lover

Rhinoceros community (abbreviated to "Rhino") is one of the most endangered species  in our country. Indian rhinoceros also called the greater one horn rhino.  

   One horn rhino is a Schedule 1 species under Wild Life ( Protection) Act 1972 and has been placed in the Red list of IUCN as Vulnerable as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20000km. Moreover the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat alluvial grassland and riverline forest is decreasing due to human and livestock encroachment. 

    The number of one horn rhino is gradually reducing due to poaching.  Poaching for rhino horn has become the single most important reason for the decline of the one horn rhino after conservation measures were put in place from the beginning of the 20th century when legal hunting was banned.   Rhino poaching is one of the major environmental issues in India which continues in the region of North East India.

    The one horn rhino is surviving in North East and 95 % of the one horn rhino resides in that region.  Illegal rhino horn trade is the main problem now a days. Some other parts like nails , skin have also very high value in Asian traditional medicinal market.  Some Vietnamese buyers believe that horn to be a care for cancer when ground to a fine powder.  

     According to a survey conducted by World Wide Fund for Nature in South Africa, it is kept by wealthy people in Vietnam as a "Peace of Mind" care. In 1993 , rhino horn was removed from the official list of Traditional Chinese medicine. In our West Bengal, Jaldapara and Gorumara wild life sanctuary are situated in Northern Bengal close to the borders of five countries including China where demand for rhino horn along with Vietnam has been greatly increasing. Since 1990, the rhino population in those two protected areas have continued to rise and poaching of the rhino has been extremely low but not stopped. 

    Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 was enacted with the objective of effectively controlling poaching and illegal trade even if some poaching incident is going on only due to lack of proper watching and shortage of forest guards.  Some times the forest guards and local hotel employees are also involved in poaching of rhinos.  Recently a poaching incident has taken place at Jaldapara where a hotel employee has been arrested.

    The poaching of rhinos can be stopped and or controlled by introducing more forest guards, increasing monitoring, introducing anti poaching dog squad, educating villagers etc . Government of West Bengal has decided to introduce "Electronic Eye Surveillance" to keep more watch through solar camera to protect the great Indian one horn rhino.