About 250 Indian MPs sign a paper to oppose South Africa on rhino trade, but they do not know why
IN AN 'Indian appeal' to thwart a South
African proposal aimed at lifting the ban
on international trade in rhino horns,
nearly 250 Members of Parliament
(MPs) have expressed their support to
5,800 conservationists, NGO representatives and students. The appeal for the
conservation of the rhinoceros was sent
to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),
held in mid-June at Harare, Zimbabwe.
The signatories called upon the convention "to forcefully and publicly oppose
any proposals or initiative for the legalisation of rhino horn trade."
Following a dramatic decline in
their numbers, CITES had included rhinos in Appendix I of the Convention in
1977, denoting ban on international
trade in its body parts. Ten years later,
CITES called for a ban on domestic trade
in rhino horn as well. However, in 1994,
South Africa, which boasts a stable
rhino population, could 'temporarily'
downlist the local southern white rhino
to Appendix II, allowing controlled
trade in live animals and hunting trophies, but excluding commercial export
of rhino horns and other products.
South Africa now proposes to confirm the downlisting and lift the ban on
exports. Critics point out that this
would lead to massive laundering of
rhino horns from countries other than
South Africa, where the pachyderm
remains threatened and its trade prohibited. Ranjit Talwar of the World
Wide Fund for Nature-India, points out
that enforcers worldwide cannot make
out the finer distinctions between the
horn of the rhino sub-species of South
Africa and others. "Indian ivory was
banned but a lot of it was laundered and
sold as African ivory. Ban on African
ivory came later," explains Talwar.
Two high-profile former Union ministers played an important role in mobilising the legislators to sign the Indian
appeal, according to Tiger Link, a 600-member Indian network of "concerned
people and organisations to save the
Tiger". "Between Maneka Gandhi and
Karan Singh, they could manage the
MPs' signatures," commented Valmik
Thapar, head of the Delhi-based
Ranthambhore Foundation. The foundation coordinates Tiger Link's activities along with the Tiger Action Cell.
Maneka Gandhi, who champions
the cause of animals ranging from
domestic cats to tigers, nonchalantly
explained her role the Roman way: "I
went to Parliament, asked for the signatures, and they signed." She claimed
that the Environmental Investigation
Agency (EIA), a hard-line conservation
group based in London, gave her the
papers to be signed. Interestingly,
Gandhi denied that Karan Singh had
anything to do with it.
The MPs, cutting across party lines
and of all political hues, signed the
appeal. "From Najma Heptullah to A B
Vajpayee," as Thapar put it. Signatories
also include Pranab Mukherjee, deputy
chairperson of the Planning Commission; Santosh Mohan Deb, chief whip of
the Congress party, and Jagmohan, former lieutenant governor of Delhi.
However, many of the public figures
show a lack of concern for wildlife
issues. Despite repeated attempts by
Down To Earth, Karan Singh or Najma
Heptullah did not bother to explain the
topical relevance of trade in rhino horn
in India, or why they signed the international appeal. Matang Singh, Rajya
Sabha MP from Assam, even wondered if
his name was in the appeal. "Karan
Singh gave it. It was something regarding wildlife trade. They made me sign,"
he finally recollected. Chief minister of
Assam, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who
was in Delhi on a tour, confirmed
through his information officer that he
had written to the South African president regarding rhino trade. However, he
could not recall the text of his message.
The rhino horn is believed by many to
have aphrodisiac qualities. It is also used
as an ingredient in certain traditional
medicinal concoctions and as a handle
for the famed Yemeni dagger. It is a
hard, cemented mass of hairs about
20-cm-long and weighing 720 gm on an
average. Sold clandestinely, it can fetch
up to US $3,000 a piece on site, according to TRAFFIC-India network, an NGO
monitoring trade in wildlife.
The cause for India's concern is that
it is home to 70 to 80 per cent of the
world's remaining Asian one-horned
rhinos. The Asian rhino horn, considered much stronger, can cost as much as
20 times that of the African rhino horn
in the international black market; up to
US $60,025 per kg - the costliest horn
of all the five varieties of rhino, according to Under Siege: Poaching and
Protection of Greater One-Horned Rhino in India, a 1996 publication by TRAFFIC-
India network. It adds that 209 rhinos
were poached between 1990 and 1993 in
India.
S Debroy, former inspector general
of forests, said that in India, there is
rampant poaching of rhinos in Kaziranga
National Park, Assam, which is home to
about 1,200 rhinos, 81 per cent of the
pachyderms left in India. He said any
relaxation in international trade laws
would only encourage the poachers.
Under Siege quotes a 1991 study that
estimates that the lucrative export trade
accounted for the killing of at least 489
rhinos in the 1980s. Pressurised by the
EIA, the campaign against trade in rhino
horns gained momentum in April this
year. Tiger Link also swung into action.
"The response was quite good," says
Joanna Van Gruisen, spokesperson for
Tiger Link and a wildlife photographer
who sent signed letters soliciting signatures by the hundreds.
As regards the 'Indian appeal', apart
from the MPs, several members of state
legislative assemblies also signed the
plea, says Thapar. Over 2,000 signatures
were collected by an activist named Ajit
Chanakya in Madhya Pradesh too,
according to Tiger Link. Van Gruisen
informed that copies of the signatures
were sent to the South African president
Nelson Mandela, and the CITES secretariat and authorities worldwide.
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