The South Africa – Viet Nam Rhino Horn Trade Nexus (PDF ... - WWF

inTRoDuCTion
INTRODUCTION
Africa’s rhinos have faced two catastrophic crises over the past 50 years. The first crisis extended
from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s and saw most rhino populations decimated
through relentless waves of poaching to support traditional rhino horn trades for medicine in
Asia and the production of dagger handles in Yemen. Many rhino range States saw their Black
Rhinoceros D. bicornis populations completely disappear or plummet to levels that were a
mere shadow of the thousands that had previously existed. From an estimated 100 000 animals throughout
Africa in 1960, Black Rhino numbers collapsed to an historic low of only some 2410 animals by 1995
(Emslie et al., 2007), including the near extinction of the western subspecies of Black Rhino D. b. longipes.
The northern subspecies of the White Rhinoceros C. s. cottoni fared even worse and was completely obliterated
throughout its range save for a small remnant population – numbering about 30 – in the
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Garamba National Park on the border with Sudan. Comparatively speaking,
the southern subspecies of the White Rhinoceros C. s. simum suffered far less attrition during this
period as most populations were found in either South Africa or Namibia. These two nations stood as the
exception to the rule and averted most of the negative impacts of the first rhino crisis due to an unwavering
government commitment to rhino conservation, diligent investment in protection and biological
monitoring, and a strong alliance between non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local communities,
private and public sector stakeholders to promote common objectives.
Under the force of a concerted international outcry, poaching pressure and illegal trade gradually abated.
CITES served as the global vehicle for focusing international action and systematically pushing
major consuming countries in Asia and the Middle East to instigate and implement rhino horn trade
bans. The threat of sanctions under the United States’ Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protection Act
of 1967, an important piece of national conservation legislation that provides a Congressional process
for bilateral sanctions to be imposed against countries seen to be undermining international species
conservation policy, added targeted teeth and muscle to the effort. By the mid-1990s, almost all major
traditional consuming countries/territories in Asia, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea
and Taiwan, had rhino horn trade bans in place and meaningful demand reduction efforts took tangible
shape. Finally, remaining rhino range States in Africa, often with international donor or NGO
financial and technical support, moved to bolster law enforcement operations to protect rhinos,
including a number of large-scale dehorning operations and the consolidation of vulnerable rhino populations
into sanctuaries or intensive protection zones in many countries.
As a result of these major and concerted conservation efforts, the decade following the mid-1990s held
the promise of revival for Africa’s beleaguered rhino populations once again. Indeed, numbers gradually
began to edge upwards and, by 2010, Black Rhino numbers had doubled to 4880 animals (Emslie,
2011a). At the same time, the Southern White Rhino positively flourished with ever-increasing numbers
and expanding range, generating important revenues from wildlife tourism, live animal sales and
limited sport hunting for key stakeholders. Throughout East and southern Africa – apart from spor adic
but nonetheless catastrophic flare-ups of civil war in places like Garamba National Park, which reportedly
wiped out the last population of Northern White Rhino (Milliken et al., 2009b) – rhino conservation
in Africa generally made important strides towards recovery over the ensuing decade. The threat
posed by large-scale rhino poaching and unfettered rhino horn trade largely receded to become a background
concern, allowing conservation efforts to focus upon biological management of meta-
populations, range expansion and reintroductions to enhance the recovery of rhino species in Africa.
But any optimism for an unqualified conservation success story has now been seriously comprom ised, if
not shattered. A second rhino crisis is now upon us, causing unprecedented rhino losses in Zimbabwe
and South Africa, two of the world’s undisputed strongholds for the species. Fears that large-scale rhino
killing might spread to other parts of Africa are not unwarranted given the history of the rhino horn
trade being underpinned by a progressive poaching conflagration successively affecting one rhino population
after another. The prospect of a spreading global poaching contagion even threatens the three
Asian rhino species, whose status in the wild is more precarious than Africa’s rhinos. The emergent rhino
horn trade between South Africa and Viet Nam stands as the most serious challenge to rhino conservation
in Africa over the past 15 years and threatens to undermine decades of conservation achievement.
Indeed, the fact that this second rhino crisis has been precipitated by a previously dorm ant and generally
overlooked minor Asian market for rhino horn, and that the most significant losses are occurring in a
Black Rhino Diceros bicornis dehorned cow and young calf.
country where the White Rhino is the emblem of the nation’s greatest conservation success in modern
history, is all the more shocking.
In many respects, Viet Nam’s emergence as the leading driver behind a new wave of rhino carnage represents
a remarkable, unexpected development and manifests many contemporary attributes that defy previous
approaches for addressing rhino horn as medicine in an Asian setting. This report was undertaken to
document the scale and characteristics of the new illicit trade linking Africa with Asia. It is crucial to assess
and understand the characteristics and motivation of this phenomenon if remedial strategies, actions and
interventions are to meet with success in curtailing rhino poaching in South Africa. The record in terms of
effective law enforcement actions still needs to be clearly established and, if possible, “lessons learned”
captured for future application. Further, it is well established that organized wildlife trade crime groups are
actively responding to increased law enforcement with an adept resilience and adaptability. To the extent
possible, it is important to document current modus operandi and underlying dynamics in order to understand
and meet future challenges. Essentially, South Africa is at a crossroads and it is not yet clear whether
the country will be able to arrest the unprecedented assault upon its rhinos.
At the other end of the trade chain, this report also examines the use and consumption of rhino horn in
Viet Nam, which since 2003 has rapidly grown to become the world’s largest recipient of both legal and illegal
sources of horn from South Africa. Regardless, rhino horn trade and usage in this market has largely
remained an undocumented mystery. It is of paramount importance to document the domestic forces that
drive demand in Viet Nam and the response of the Vietnamese government, especially its law enforcement
agencies, to this challenge. This report offers the first, in depth, contemporary study of the situation in Viet
Nam. Whilst it makes an important contribution to our understanding of that market, far more work needs
to be done on this topic in Viet Nam specifically and throughout Asia more generally. Better knowledge of
the structure of the consuming market is a pre-requisite if holistic solutions to illegal trade and usage are to
be found and effective, collaborative law enforcement actions promoted.
In summary, rhino conservation in Africa is once again in the grip of an overwhelming crisis that has
the potential to wipe out the incremental gains of the past 15 years. This report provides a comprehensive
overview of the still-emerging events and dynamics that underpin the escalating illicit trade in
rhino horn from South Africa to Viet Nam. Whilst it is recognized that there certainly are other dimensions
to the rhino horn trade, both within Africa and in Asia, by drilling down deeply into the two
principal countries, this study brings into focus the most prominent aspects of a still unfolding
phenomenon. It is hoped that this effort will make a valuable contribution towards understanding the
factors behind the present carnage and, in turn, point the way toward solutions that serve to mitigate
and prevent further losses of two of Africa’s most iconic species, the Black and the White Rhino.
18 the south africa – viet nam rhino horn trade nexus TRAFFIC 19
©WWf/jo Benn