Indian Rhino Vision 2020 | 14 Apr 2021

Why in News

The Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020) program has come to a close with the recent translocation of two rhinos to Manas National Park in Assam.

• It was the eighth round of rhino translocation under IRV2020.

Key Points

• About Indian Rhino Vision 2020:
  
  • Launched in 2005, Indian Rhino Vision 2020 was an ambitious effort to attain a wild population of at least 3,000 greater one-horned rhinos spread over seven protected areas in the Indian state of Assam by the year 2020.
  • Seven protected areas are Kaziranga, Pobitora, Orang National Park, Manas National Park, Laokhowa wildlife sanctuary, Burachapori wildlife sanctuary and Dibru Saikhowa wildlife sanctuary.
  • Wild-to-wild translocations were an essential part of IRV2020 – moving rhinos from densely populated parks like Kaziranga NP, to ones in need of more rhinos, like Manas NP.
  • It is a collaborative effort between various organisations, including the International Rhino Foundation, Assam’s Forest Department, Bodoland Territorial Council, World Wide Fund - India, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Performance of the Program:
  
  • Target of attaining a population of 3,000 rhinos almost achieved but the animal could be reintroduced in only one of the four protected areas planned.
    
    • The plan to spread the Greater one-horned rhino across four protected areas beyond Kaziranga National Park, Orang National Park and Pobitora could not materialise.
  • The translocated rhinos helped Manas National Park get back its World Heritage Site status in 2011.
  • 2018 and 2019 saw significant decreases in poaching, the results of forestry, local and national government officials coordinating efforts to combat wildlife crime across Assam.
• About Greater One-Horned Rhino:
  
  • There are three species of rhino in Asia — Greater one-horned (Rhinoceros unicornis), Javan and Sumatran.
  • Poaching for the horns and habitat loss are the two greatest threats to the survival of Asia's rhinos.
  • The five rhino range nations (India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia) have signed a declaration ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’ for the conservation and protection of the species.
  • Protection Status:
    
    • Javan and Sumatran Rhino are critically endangered and the Greater one-horned (or Indian) rhino is vulnerable under the IUCN Red List.
    • All three listed under Appendix I (CITES).
    • Greater one-horned rhino is listed under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
  • Habitat of Greater One-Horned Rhino:
    
    • The species is restricted to small habitats in Indo-Nepal terai and northern West Bengal and Assam.
    • In India, rhinos are mainly found in Kaziranga NP, Pobitora WLS, Orang NP, Manas NP in Assam, Jaldapara NP and Gorumara NP in West Bengal and Dudhwa TR in Uttar Pradesh.

Source:TH