The International Rhino Foundation (IRF), a US-based organisation working for the conservation of five rhinoceros species in Africa and Asia since the Nineties, has applauded India’s successful conservation of the greater one-horned rhino, especially in Assam but still stressed on “sustained” monitoring for their effective protection.

IRF executive director Nina Fascione, on a two-week visit to all rhino-bearing areas in the country, said during an interaction with a team of Guwahati-based Aaranyak: “I have been amazed by the successful conservation of India rhinos in this part of the globe and IRF would be keen to support the conservation efforts of the species in years to come.”

Aaranyak is a leading biodiversity conservation group from the Northeast.

A statement issued by Aaranyak on the interaction also said that Fascione stressed the need “for better global attention for the sustained conservation of the greater one-horned rhino that is thriving in India” and also called for “knowledge sharing among all the rhino-bearing countries” regarding their respective conservation efforts.

The population of one-horned rhinos in the world stood at about 4,014 of which around 3,250 are found in India with Assam leading the count with about 2,893.

In Assam, the rhino-bearing protected areas are Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve (2613), Orang National Park (125), Manas National Park & Tiger Reserve (48), and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (107).

The IRF, founded in 1993, “recognising” that all five rhino species were facing an escalating crisis has been supporting conservation efforts in several countries in Africa and Asia, also lauded the research-driven work of the Aaranyak team for the conservation of the one-horned Indian rhino and other important species, habitat protection and restoration, engagement of community in conservation efforts.

The Aaranyak statement said the IRF was looking forward to a much longer association with the biodiversity conservation group for the conservation of the greater one-horned rhino.

The IRF, whose mission is to ensure the survival of rhinos through strategic partnerships, targeted protection, and scientifically sound interventions, has been working with the Aaranyak for about 12 years on rhino conservation issues.

India’s rhino conservation efforts have seen both the state and central governments work in tandem to protect the one-horn rhino, which is found only in India and Nepal. Those seen in Bhutan have crossed into Manas in Assam.

Assam has led the way in rhino conservation with the state government making it a priority area in the 2000s. The Assam Forest Department adopted the ambitious Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 programme in association with the WWF India and the IRF.

“This has been recognised as a success globally as this programme helped re-introduce rhinos to one of its historical range areas, Manas National Park, the first Protected Area (PA) under the IRV2020 program where rhinos were reintroduced,” according to the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India). From no rhino in 2005 in Manas, there were 36 rhinos in 2018.