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Activists bemoan sorry plight of Javan Rhinos

HCM CITY — Environmentalists in Viet Nam are struggling against enormous pressure to ensure the survival of the Javan Rhinoceros, one of the most critically endangered large mammals in the world.

Cat Tien National Park, in the south of Viet Nam, contains one of only two remaining populations of Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus on the planet. Java, Indonesia has the largest population, harbouring about 50 to 60 of a closely related sub-species; however Viet Nam has only five to 10 animals left.

During the 1960s it was commonly thought that the species had become extinct. A revival of interest in the species, and in the conservation of bio-diversity generally, in Viet Nam occurred when a hunter was arrested in 1988 after trying to sell the horn and skin of a female rhino that he had shot near the Dong Nai River in Cat Tien District.

Javan rhinos measure about 130-150cm in height and can weigh up to 1,500kg. They are typically solitary, joining together with other individuals only for reproduction and care of offspring. And each animal needs between 600 to 1,000ha of vegetated land to survive.

The diet of the Javan rhinoceros is primarily young shoots of native trees or herbs. Food availability in Cat Tien National Park however is far from optimal for rhinos, consisting mainly of bamboo and rattan thickets. During the America, war the park was heavily affected by the chemical defoliant dioxin, otherwise known as ‘Agent Orange’. As a result, some highly resilient types of bamboo have become the dominant species.

As with many other unfortunate animals, this gentle giant too is in peril as a direct and indirect result of human activities. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been working tirelessly to save the species through the Cat Tien National Park Conservation Project. In addition to protecting the rhinos, the project aims to reduce the dependency of the local population on park resources, develop eco-tourism and raise public awareness as to the value and importance of the park.

A key threat to the survival of the Javan rhinoceros is agricultural encroachment and disturbance from growing human populations. Many people live within the protected area and are continuously converting forest into agricultural land for cashew and mulberry plantations besides bothering the animals with radios, waste water, etc.

Marginalised local communities also often turn to the hunting and sale of endangered wildlife and wildlife products to make ends meet. Hunting is still considered a threat to these animals because of the increasingly desperate financial situations many locals find themselves in.

A further threat is genetic in-breeding. When a reproductive population is extremely low, such as the size of the rhino population at Cat Tien National Park, the species can go through what is known as a "bottleneck" or a decrease in the diversity of the genetic pool, that increases susceptibility to diseases.

It is important to note that it is not possible to increase the genetic diversity of the Javan rhinoceros through introducing individual animals from the Indonesian stock. The two populations are different sub-species and their physical characteristics and adaptations are too diverse for cross-breeding; the implication is that if the Javan rhinoceros in Viet Nam becomes extinct, it is gone forever.

The conservation of biological diversity is an inherently complex issue that requires the commitment and vision of a great many stakeholders. Viet Nam should be proud of its biological resources and continue to strive to conserve them through initiatives such as the commendable Cat Tien National Park Conservation Project co-ordinated by WWF. — VNS

www.ecologyasia.com

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