The Imperative Need for Rhinos to Soar Through the Skies
Fly Across Borders: The Controversial Rhino Relocation and African Parks' Questionable Tactics
By Jasmine James, Kampala
Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Email | Print | Copy Link
In a bid to expand animal populations and attract tourists, 70 rhinos were airlifted from South Africa to Rwanda - the largest ever transport of large wild creatures in history. But what's the game plan of African Parks, the controversial conservation organization overseeing this operation?
Peeking out of their transport containers, the rhinos cautiously survey their new savannah home, Akagera National Park, Rwanda. This journey of 3,400 kilometers took two days, escorted by veterinarians. From a South African enclosure, they reached the airport in Durban, crossed the skies on a Boeing 747, and finally took the road to their new abode. According to the Rwandan Development Board (RDB), this process was a collaboration with African Parks and will aim to restore the park's ecosystem and secure the rhino species for future generations [Knowledge for Species Conservation].
The southern white rhinos, on the brink of extinction, are a critically endangered subspecies with approximately 17,000 remaining. Their numbers have dramatically decreased due to hunting in colonial times [Panorama 123 Dead Birds Poachers Mass Poisoning Vultures]. With the introduction of these 70 rhinos, Rwanda's Akagera National Park has joined the exclusive club of nature reserves featuring the "Big Five" - lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, and rhinos. According to African Parks, the park will now attract more tourism revenue, enabling it to become self-financing [In the Name of Humanity].
But at what cost? Investigations into alleged human rights violations by wildlife rangers of African Parks against indigenous tribes took two years. In the Republic of Congo's Odzala-Kokoua National Park, managed by African Parks, there are claims of torture, rape, and forced displacement of indigenous Baka people who once inhabited the park. Though African Parks acknowledged these allegations and expressed regret for the resulting pain and suffering, further investigations are still ongoing [Torture, Rape, Displacement - The Methods of Conservationists].
African Parks, founded in 2003, is a profit-driven company that aims to save Africa's wildlife rather than a traditional conservation organization. The organization, still headquartered in South Africa, has generated over $27 million through safari tourism in the past five years, funds intended for expanding more national parks across Africa [Knowledge for Species Conservation]. However, critics question whether committing human rights violations is a reasonable price to pay for these gains.
Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, was tight-lipped about the anticipated profits resulting from the rhino relocation and ignored questions regarding human rights violations.
Sources: ntv.de
Rwanda | South Africa | Species protection | Indigenous peoples
- The community policy of African Parks, as a profit-driven conservation organization, emphasizes the development of safari tourism to secure funds, such as the $27 million generated in the past five years, which are intended to expand national parks across Africa.
- In the field of environmental-science and finance, the questionable tactics of African Parks, including the relocation of rhinos and the management of national parks, have raised concerns within the scientific community over their potential environmental impact, as well as allegations of human rights violations against indigenous tribes.
