Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, September 23, lauded the efforts of the Assam team in protecting the pride of India- Indian Rhinos. This came a day after Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma put a stockpile of single-horned rhinos to fire.
Assam burns horns
On the occasion of World Rhino Day, September 22, Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, took a significant decision to burn a stockpile of 2,479 single-horned Rhinos, to bust the myth that rhino horns have medicinal value and can be used for medicinal purposes.
CM Sarma wrote, “We have taken an extraordinary step of burning stockpile of 2479 horns of single-horned Rhinos, first-of-its-kind globally in volume terms.” The purpose behind the move was to signal the message of putting an end to the poaching of rhinos in Assam.
However, they would be preserving 94 rhino horns for display at a museum to be set up at Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
Rhinos: Pride of India
The one-horned rhino is not only an integral part of India’s civilization but also a symbol of India’s prized heritage and identity. The Indian rhino is the largest of the rhino species. The greater one-horned rhinoceros is identified by a single black horn about 8-25 inches long and a grey-brown hide with skin folds, which gives it an armor-plated appearance. Their diet mostly consists of grasses, leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.
Population of Rhinos in India
The hunting of rhinos pushed the rhinos population to a vulnerable stage. By the start of the 20th century, around 200 wild one-horned rhinos remained. However, timely conservation efforts, strict protection, and management efforts of the Government of India and State Government led to the recovery of species.
Approximately 75% of the entire population of greater one-horned rhinoceros are found in India in the three States viz, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Further, State Governments periodically conduct the census of rhinoceros at the State-level.
Population of Rhinos in Assam
Assam is home to the largest population of one-horned rhino in India. As of 2017, the Kaziranga National Park houses 2,401 Rhinoceros, the largest population of one-horned rhinoceros in the world which constitutes about 68% of the entire world population of one-horned rhinoceros.
With the conservation efforts, the population of rhinos has increased considerably over the years. In addition to Assam, the Indian rhinos can be found in Jaldapara National Park and Gorumara National Park in West Bengal, Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, etc.
Conservation efforts
The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change launched the “National Conservation Strategy for the Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros” with the goal to repopulate the rhinoceros population. The programme has also been implemented in areas that held the rhinoceros earlier by augmenting the existing conservation efforts and strengthening them through scientific and administrative measures.
One-horned rhinoceros is among the 21 species identified for the Recovery programme for critically endangered species by the Ministry. The Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 programme implemented in Assam helped in restocking the rhino population.
Furthermore, initiatives have been undertaken by the State Governments like West Bengal and Bihar that are working for the reintroduction of the rhinoceros in the areas which used to hold the Rhino populations till a few decades back.
Global conservation efforts of flora and fauna
India has also been taking global efforts to save the environment, forest, flora, and fauna. The Ministry and the State Forest Departments of the Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal with support from other organizations are taking appropriate steps in accordance with the “New Delhi Declaration”, signed after the 2nd Asian Rhino range States Conservation meeting held in February 2019. Representatives from Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nepal attended the meeting besides India.
Also, to protect the cheetah population, India reintroduced cheetahs from Africa. Similarly, it has been taking initiatives to reduce its global carbon footprint, increase forest cover to support flora and fauna conservation. PM Narendra Modi also called for global conservation efforts to fight climate change.
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