That poaching has always been an ever-present threat to the greater one-horned rhino population is a known fact. But in today’s world, climate change is increasingly being recognised as a significant threat as well, experts and people in the field have told Down To Earth (DTE).
Rhinos in two of India’s premier habitats for the species – Kaziranga in Assam and Jaldapara in northern West Bengal — are especially at risk due to extreme weather events, according to those who study the species.
“While climate change is not a direct driver of rhino poaching in the same way as the demand for horns, it is increasingly being recognised as a significant and compounding threat to rhinos and the landscapes they depend upon,” said Olivia Smith, the communications manager of Helping Rhinos, an organisation founded in 2012 which focuses on rhino conservation.
According to Smith, rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, water scarcity and habitat degradation pose long-term risks to rhino populations, reducing the availability of food, stressing ecosystems and making certain areas less habitable over time.
The Jaldapara National Park, located in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, was declared a national park in 2012. Jaldapara’s riverine ecosystem is crisscrossed by several rivers and supports the greater one-horned rhino population which has been the target of poachers for horns that fetch exorbitant rates in the international market.
Matiyas Kharia, a casual forest staff, has been working in Jaldapara since 2014. A tribal man from the nearby Madarihat-Birpara block, his duty is to keep watch atop tongs, wooden structures erected across the park, for anti-poaching surveillance.
The number of rhinos in Jaldapara was reduced to 14 in 1985 as a result of poaching, coupled with habitat degradation and loss. But conservation efforts helped in a turnaround and there are now an estimated 331 rhinos, according to a census carried out in March last year.
Kharia earns Rs 15,000 a month. While he agrees that poaching is the greatest threat to Jaldapara’s rhinos, his relative Rathiram Kharia, a guide in Jaldapara, hints at the long-term risks posed by climate change-induced poaching to rhinos in the park. “Sometimes, when locals have either zero or reduced sources of income, they become greedy once easy money flows in.”
The Darjeeling floods which happened around October last year impacted the rhino population of Jaldapara. “Jaldapara was inundated at that time. A total of 13 rhinos had strayed outside the park. The animals were stranded and had to be rescued from Cooch Behar (a district in North Bengal bordering Alipurduar),” said Jaldapara director and Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan.
In the Himalayan region of India bordering Bhutan, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) can impact rhinos in Jaldapara through the flooding of major rivers which are connected to Bhutan and flow through Alipurduar. Bhutan has around 2,674 glacial lakes, of which 25 are high-risk. The country has experienced 18 GLOF events since the 1950s. One of Jaldapara’s main rivers is the Torsa which originates in Tibet, flows through Bhutan and enters Alipurduar.
Floods are certainly a risk in Kaziranga which faces them every year during the peak monsoon season. The park has 2,613 rhinos.
The indirect link between climate crisis and poaching cannot be overlooked. Climate-related pressures disrupt livelihoods, particularly among rural communities who live alongside wildlife. “As access to resources turns into a challenge, people may become more vulnerable to exploitation by organised criminal networks. This can, in turn, increase the risk of poaching and other wildlife crimes,” Smith explained.
From a conservation perspective, this highlights the importance of addressing rhino protection holistically. This can be done not only through anti-poaching efforts, but also by supporting resilient ecosystems and communities that are better able to withstand environmental and economic fluctuations.