Half of Africa’s white rhino population is in private hands – it’s time for a new conservation approach
To what extent should the costs of protecting globally valued rhinos be carried by their local custodians?
theconversation.com
Southern white rhinos are widely known as a conservation success story. Their population grew from fewer than 100 individuals in the 1920s to 20,000 in 2012, mostly in South Africa.
This success was partially due to the inclusion of the private sector, which started in the 1960s when white rhinos were moved from their last remaining population in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and placed in other state reserves as well as on private land. In 1991 the Game Theft Act formalised conditions for private rhino ownership and use. Poaching pressure was low at the time, and the demand for rhinos by eco-tourists and trophy hunters gave private landowners incentives to grow their rhino populations.
Based on publicly available data, our recent paper shows that, today, private landholders conserve over half of South Africa’s white rhinos. Communities conserve a further 1% of the white rhinos. This trend is not unique to South Africa. More than 75% of Zimbabwe’s and Namibia’s white rhinos are on private lands. Although outside their natural range, in east Africa 72% of Kenya’s white rhino populations are conserved by private landowners.
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