Sign In
Learn bits
Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

28/11/22 12:40 PM IST

CITES COP19 downgrades status of southern white rhino

In News 
  • In a major hurdle to Africa’s rhino conservation efforts, CITES COP19 has recently accepted the proposal to downgrade the status of southern white rhinos from Appendix I to Appendix II.
Downgrade Status 
  • A proposal by Namibia and Botswana to transfer the southern white rhinos from Appendix I to Appendix II allows the trade of live animals for conservation purposes and hunting trophies only.
  • Animals in Appendix II may not necessarily be on the brink of extinction but the trade of such species is regulated to protect their existence.
  • This amendment is restricted to the downgrading of live animals only for in situ conservation purposes.
  • This decision does not resume the international trade in rhino horn, which was proposed by Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland).
  • However, the downgrading of the classification exposes these vulnerable species to the threats posed by smuggling channels in countries where there are rampant activities of illegal poaching.
  • It allows white rhinos to be relocated over long distances from one country to another.
Southern White Rhino 
  • The southern white rhino is one of the two subspecies of white rhinos, with the other being the northern white rhino.
  • It is one of the largest and heaviest animals in the world. It is among the most widespread and common subspecies of white rhinos.
  • It is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List. Its population has dwindled by 24 per cent from 2015 to 2021.
  • Currently, 98.5 per cent of the southern white rhino population is found in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.
  • Namibia currently hosts some 1,237 southern white rhinos. As many as 57 white rhinos have been poached between the years 2013 and 2020 in this country.
Source- DTE 

More Related Current Affairs View All

05 Mar

First-ever comprehensive survey of India’s river dolphins

'Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the results of the first-ever comprehensive population estimation of riverine dolphins – Gangetic and Indus dolphins – done in In

Read More

05 Mar

Arresting women at night

'The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in Deepa versus S. Vijayalakshmi and Others ruled that the legal provision in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which

Read More

05 Mar

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023

'The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) looking to wrap up public consultations on the draft Rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 by Mar

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps