Obama to Tackle Africa’s Wildlife Trafficking Crisis

Date: 01 Jul 2013

By: Rhishja Cota-Larson

Tag: Africa, Barack Obama, China, Hillary Clinton, illegal wildlife trade, ivory, John Kerry, policy, politics, rhino horn, Tanzania, traditional Chinese medicine, Vietnam, wildlife crime, wildlife trafficking

Comment: Comments are on

President Obama’s new initiative to combat wildlife trafficking will kick off in Tanzania. Photo by John Storr via Wikimedia Commons

President Obama is launching a new initiative to combat Africa’s illegal wildlife trade crisis, which will include $10 million “specifically earmarked” for addressing the issue.

According to The Washington Post, “Obama will convene a Cabinet-level task force composed of the State, Interior and Justice departments that will be charged with devising a national strategy to curb the illegal trade of wildlife across the globe.” The initiative will kick off in Tanzania.
WWF welcomed the news, calling it “groundbreaking” and posting the following statement from President Obama:

Poaching and trafficking is threatening Africa’s wildlife. Today I issued a new Executive Order to better organize U.S. government efforts in this fight so that we can cooperate with the Tanzanian government and others. This includes an additional millions of dollars to help countries across the regions to build their capacity to meet this challenge.

The Executive Order includes:

• A $10 million pledge to improve protection for threatened wildlife populations in key African countries.
• A Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking to develop a national strategy within six months to fight wildlife crime, which will receive recommendations from an Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking of independent experts.
• A review of the federal government’s Transnational Organized Crime Strategy to consider adding wildlife trafficking to the list of crimes it covers, elevating it to the same level as arms, drug and human trafficking.

The entire world has a stake in making sure we preserve Africa’s beauty for future generations.

Demand for wildlife parts comes mainly from Asia, with China’s appetite wiping out elephants, pangolins, and other threatened African species. Meanwhile, Vietnam is a major destination for rhino horns sourced in Africa.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said that the issue of demand reduction had been brought up by the President in meetings with China.

I know its come up at the president and the Secretary of State level with the Chinese. A lot of these syndicates are based in China.

Grant Harris, the senior director for Africa for the National Security Council, noted that the issue of wildlife trafficking figured prominently in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy.
And even before his appointment as current Secretary of State, John Kerry elevated the wildlife trafficking crisis to a high level. On May 24th, 2012, he presided over the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Hearing, which examined the connection between global insecurity and a surging ivory and rhino horn trade.
Under President Obama’s timely initiative, the US seems poised for an active role in fighting the global wildlife trafficking crisis.

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Saving The Black Rhino Project-Great Works From the Land of the Black Rhino

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Rhino Game Preparation outcomes

Kids at the market place had much interest in drawing pictures using paint activity on the XO sugar lab activities

Here are some of the pictures drawn by kids at the marketplace which they would like to share ideas with kids in USA and other partnering kids globally. You find that the activity had draw attentions of kids after they so and had the Skype test on Wednesday 3^rd that started at 4.00 p.m East African time.

Kids learning about saving Black Rhino through art and discussions.

In East Africa, Kenya being one of them, kids are eager to know what measures are being taken to save the black rhino. Kids are dwelling on Africa as an epidemic area for Rhino life as its said that, this year in south Africa has lost more than 290 Rhinos which sounds terrible to the family of rhinoceros all over the world.
This shows that at least two rhinos are loosing life a day compared to last year's killings (2012) where poachers killed 668.
Great interest is to know why East Asia especially Vietnam  is activating the Rhino killings buy legalizing the buying and selling of Rhino products.
Their cry of the kids is to ask African leaders to enforce security forces in place the secure rhinos globally.

What results to killings
believes that their products results to wealth and medical misinformation.

hello everyone! This is Shadowdaya123! And big news! From Mr.R

We are going to start the rhino project with the kids from Africa soon. I need everyone to get ready! Mr.R says. So everyone get ready for this event!

conservation

Conservation

For most of the 20th century the continental black rhino was the most numerous of all rhino species. Around 1900 there were probably several hundred thousand^[2] living in Africa. During the latter half of the 20th century their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000^[25] in the late 1960s to only 10,000 to 15,000 in 1981. In the early 1990s the number dipped below 2,500, and in 2004 it was reported that only 2,410 black rhinos remained. According to the International Rhino Foundation, the total African population had recovered to 4,240 by 2008 (which suggests that the 2004 number was low).^[26] In 2002 only 10 West African rhinos remained in Cameroon, and in 2006 intensive surveys across its putative range failed to locate any, leading to fears that this subspecies was extinct.^[14] In 2011 the IUCN declared the Western black rhino extinct.^[27]
The only rhino that has recovered somewhat from the brink of extinction is the southern white whose numbers now are estimated around 14,500, up from fewer than 50 in the first decade of the 20th century.^[28]
The black rhinoceros had been pushed to the brink of extinction by illegal poaching for their horn, and to a lesser extent by loss of habitat. A major market for rhino horn has historically been in the Arab nations to make ornately carved handles for ceremonial daggers called jambiyas. Demand for these exploded in the 1970s causing the black rhinoceros population to decline 96% between 1970 and 1992. The horn is also used in traditional Chinese medicine, and is said by herbalists to be able to revive comatose patients, cure fevers, and aid male sexual stamina and fertility.^[29] The purported effectiveness of the use of rhino horn in treating any illness has not been confirmed by medical science. In June 2007, the first-ever documented case of the medicinal sale of black rhino horn in the United States (confirmed by genetic testing of the confiscated horn) occurred at a traditional Chinese medicine supply store in Portland, Oregon's Chinatown.^[29]

i am happy today

Black Rhino' s Habitat

Physical description

The black rhinoceros has two horns, and occasionally a third small posterior horn. The anterior horn is longer than the posterior, averaging 50cm long.

The species is distinguished from the white rhino by a prehensile upper lip (hence the alternative name of hook-lipped rhino), which it uses to feed on twigs of woody plants and a variety of herbaceous plants.

Size: 800-1,400 kg.

Colour: Dark yellow brown to dark brown or dark gray.

Living in deserts, grasslands and montane forests

Black rhinos are mainly found in grassland-forest transition zones, but are present in habitats ranging from desert in south-western Africa to montane forests in Kenya.

The species is usually restricted to areas within about 25km of water sources. Black rhinos can often be found in mud or water wallows, where they cool themselves.

Social structure
Adult black rhinos are mostly solitary, although they may form groups of 12 individuals. Mother and daughters may stay together for long periods of time, while females that do not have offspring join a neighbouring female.

Conflict usually arises when outsiders enter an area already utilized by a clan. During courtship, conflicts over a female may result in the death of one of the competing males.

Life cycle
Black rhino calves begin to wean at about 2 months of age. Although females reach sexual maturity at 4-5 years, they do not have their first calf until they are 6.5-7 years old. Males need to wait until they are 10-12 years old before they can claim a territory and mate. Black rhinos may reach 40-50 years of age.

Breeding
Breeding is reported to occur throughout the year. The gestation period is between 419 and 478 days, with an average interval of 2.5-3.5 years between calves.