Activities: Economic and socially sustainable programmes

For rhino conservation to have a long-term future, it is essential that support (political and public) for rhino conservation is in place and fostered. As a result an increasing effort is being made to integrate local communities into rhino conservation efforts in an attempt to ensure the sustained flow of benefits from conservation and / or management of rhino parks contributes to the social and economic development of neighbouring communities.

Successful rhino conservation is not cheap. It can cost as much as $1,000 per km2 per year. It is therefore essential to ensure that the necessary financial budgets and manpower to undertake vital rhino conservation activities are secured from government, donor agencies and in some parts of the world (notably the SADC region of southern Africa) also from the sustainable use of rhinos (tourism, live sales and limited controlled sport hunting). Declining national budgets for conservation is one of the major problems facing rhino conservation agencies today, and donor funding and support is playing an increasingly important role today as a result. However, despite this trend, the majority of funding for successful rhino programmes in the majority of successful range states continues to come from government agencies, and private sector owners and custodians within those range states. As such, donor funding tends to be most effective where it builds on and enhances existing efforts.

Richard Emslie
Scientific Officer
IUCN SSC AfRSG