Initiating a market culture in Swakopmund
September 16, 2013UNCCD COP 11 officially opened in Windhoek
September 17, 2013World Rhino Day 2013 – on Sunday September 22nd – is the fourth international World Rhino Day. It is, first and foremost, about raising public awareness of the plight of rhinos across the world. It’s a way of making people think about rhinos and the ever-increasing poaching threat. It is also an opportunity for the public to reflect on the dedicated men and women who work to protect rhino and to take action that will help support their work.
World Rhino Day’s slogan is “Five rhino species forever”. The five species are: The Black and White rhino found in Africa, the Greater one horned rhino found in India and Nepal, the Sumatran rhino in south east Asia and the Javan rhino in Indonesia.
Concerned individuals and rhino organisations around the world commemorate World Rhino Day in different ways – some hold demonstrations, others take part in street processions or art competitions, while some choose to donate to organisations involved in the protection of rhino.
Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) in Namibia has been protecting the desert-adapted black rhino population of Namibia for more than thirty years. Due to its long standing efforts to protect the black rhino, Save the Rhino Trust has recently been given the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s (AZA) annual International Conservation Award for ‘Significant Achievement.’
Save the Rhino Trust works with the community, the government and other NGOs to protect this species and this unity for the cause makes all the difference. Whereas South Africa experienced 668 poaching incidents in 2012 and over 618 poaching incidents in 2013, Namibia recorded only three cases in the last two years.
The illegally traded horn is in great demand by affluent Asians and Vietnamese. It is used in traditional medicine and believed to have miraculous curative powers for everything from a headache to cancer, even though science has proven otherwise. Rhino horn is made up of the same material as a human fingernail.
World Rhino Day in Namibia
- Public talk on rhino conservation by Save the Rhino Trust’s CEO Marcia Stanton.
- Date: Friday 20 September 2013
- Venue: Namib High School Hall, Swakopmund
- Time: 19h00
- Entrance: Free! Donations are welcome!
- T Shirts, stuffed toys and “Funky Rhino” ceramics will be on sale.
Teamwork is the key to protecting rhino from the threat of poaching. Let us all join hands and continue to work together to help keep Namibia’s rhinos safe.
