One-horned Javan rhino faces extinction

One-horned Javan rhino faces extinction

UJUNG KULON (JP): Illegal drug trafficking involves not only
modern drugs like ecstasy, but also traditional medicine.

The precarious state of the one-horned Javan rhino (Rhinoceros
sondaicus), can largely be attributed to the age-old myth that
rhino horn is an aphrodisiac.

The already decimated rhino population of between 40 and 70
head, in Ujung Kulon National Park, West Java, faces extinction
by hunters.

Rhinos are sought after mainly for their horn, which is
believed to enhance sexual gratification, but some say that all
of the rhino can be used.

Scientists used to believe that a rhino was typically 170 cm
tall, more than three meters long, and weighed 2,200 kgs. But a
recent photographic survey indicates that the largest rhino in
Ujung Kulon may be only 150 cm tall.

The exact number of rhinos in Ujung Kulon is not known despite
photo-trapping and the counting of rhino tracks.

"These are the best methods that we have come up with...
though we realize that there is really no precise way to identify
the exact number," Agoes Sriyatna, chief of the national park
admitted.

The national park was believed to be the only habitat for the
Javanese rhino in the world until a smaller population was
recently discovered in Vietnam.

Spreading over a vast area of 120,551 hectares, the national
park comprises 76,214 hectares of land and 44,37 hectares of
surrounding reefs and sea which can roughly be separated into
three areas: the triangular Ujung Kulon Peninsula, the Gunung
Honje Range to the east of the peninsula's isthmus, and the
island of Panaitan to the north west.

Not many rhinos, however, are found in the luscious landscape,
and there has been a steady decline in their numbers in the past
30 years. By the 1980s, it was estimated that there were only
between 70 and 80 rhinos left.

If this trend continues we may see the total extinction of the
rhino over the next 10 years.

The remaining 250 Sumatran rhinos, or Dicerorhinus
sumatrensis, are being protected at the Way Kambas conservation
site in Lampung province, Sumatra.

Asian countries, notably China, Korea and Japan, believe that
rhino horn is a potent aphrodisiac. Its skin is believed to
reduce fever.

The myth of rhino horn's aphrodisiac properties has boosted
demand and prices. Some are willing to pay as much as Rp 40
million (US$17,021) for a horn -- manna from heaven for local
residents, who may not earn that much in a lifetime.

In 1992, the World Wide Fund for Nature conducted research
which refuted this myth. The findings revealed that rhino horn is
very similar to bull or buffalo horn, and has no medicinal
properties whatsoever.

TRAFFIC, an international watchdog network which oversees
trading of protected plant and animal species has recently
discovered that the trade of Eastern traditional medicine made of
rhino's horn is on the rise.

Between 1988 and 1992, for example, TRAFFIC found at least
100,000 products derived from rhino horns were being traded.

By the end of 1993, the South Koreans were said to consume
some 300 kilos of rhino horn a year -- which spells the end for
100 African rhinos.

China and Taiwan, however, have succumbed to international
pressure by banning the sale and use of rhino horn.

Taiwan took a step further, ordering owners to register their
horns, though no sanctions were imposed on those who failed to
register.

In Indonesia, the government has been criticized for dragging
its heels in the enforcement of environmental law. Minister for
the Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, however, has said that all
talk about preserving the environment is pointless unless
economic reforms are carried out to improve standards of living.
Exasperated by the destruction of the environment, he underlined
the importance of the improvement of people's welfare, saying
this would eliminate the temptation that people face to exploit
the environment.

"These people, who we often blame for their misdemeanors,
often don't have lofty ideas of preserving the environment for
future generations. What's pressing in their mind is how to
provide their family with a bowl of rice and education," he said.

Efforts to protect the environment are often frustrated if the
local population is not involved in the process.

Environmental experts have suggested to apply a "sharing of
benefit" concept, providing local communities with economic
incentives for preserving the environment. This may give their
conscience a useful helping hand. (14)