Call of duty for Protection and Preservation and Conservation of the one horned Rhinos of Assam from extinction.

I, Anurag Hazarika, currently serving as Faculty of the Krishna Kanta Handique State Open University(KKHSOU),Tezpur college Study centre,Tezpur ,Assam,India.  Recently  being invited for the Barcelona International Model United Nations (BIMUN)2017,Spain on April 2017 as official speaker on a burning issue of Assam in particular and India as a whole and the world in a holistic manner. The main basis of the speech concentrated upon was  the ‘Protection, Preservation and Conservation of the famous  one horned  rhinos of Assam from extinction.’ Secondly been invited  to the International Youth Diplomacy Conference (IYDC) at Ghana  and also being invited to the  reputed MUN’s of India like TGMUN (The Global Model United Nations),Lucknow, Presidium Model United Nations,Gurgaon (PMUN) and the North Bengal International Model United Nations (NBIMUN) Conference,Cooch Behar,West Bengal to deal with the same sensitive and burning issue thus encouraging me to raise the issue of rhino protection and conservation across all MUN conferences from Asia to America. My ultimate aim is to raise this issue at the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) on the wildlife Conservation meet across the sidelines of UNGA meeting. I hope India will take up this issue seriously to the UNGA just as Ghana and Germany did it on the sidelines of the UNGA 2013. 

Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an extra-curricular activity in which students typically role-play delegates to the United Nations and simulate UN committees. he MUN aims to be an authentic simulation of the United Nations – complete with Security Council, General Assembly, an ECOSOC committee as well as a wide range of other sub-committees, a Secretariat headed by the Secretary General, a Press Corp and of course the delegates. The Model United Nations  (MUN) is a simulation of the United Nations work sessions.

There are various types of MUN, created to satisfy the practical educational needs of a range of individuals: students, professionals and managers in the private sector and members of the Armed Forces. However, all MUNs have certain common goals:

• To provide a deeper understanding of multilateral diplomacy;

• To strengthen negotiating and leadership skills;

• To improve the ability to anticipate evolving scenarios of complex issues.

Participants are required to act like real UN delegates partaking in sessions of various UN committees. Each participant in a committee represents a different country. The delegate has to work, faithfully respecting the assigned country’s standpoint, to obtain the approval of documents that favour the assigned country and the collective interest.

It saddens one to think that the rhino is being hunted down for the value that its horn provides to dealers from Asian countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and China, where they would use it in traditional medicines. Middle Eastern countries like Oman and Yemen use it to make all kinds of ornaments that include ceremonial daggers and other jewelry.

According to The Guardian, in August 2011 the value of the rhino horn increased by as much as £50,000 per kilo due to higher demand in Asian countries. Unfortunately, they can only do so much and cannot be everywhere.

Currently, the value of the rhino horn is estimated to be close to one million US dollars. The high value placed on rhino horn makes it even harder for everyone involved to save the rhino from becoming extinct.

Some of the proposed ways to save the rhino from extinction include the following:

01 Legalise international trade of the rhino horn

The theory is supported by the idea of farming rhinos and eventually harvesting their horns.

02 Safe rhino dehorning

It’s been said that if done under controlled conditions, the rhino’s horn could be safely removed without harming the animal. The only problem here is that it has a negative effect on the animal’s behaviour and on the male rhino’s ability to mate.

03 Harsher prison sentences

…and increased patrolling is another recommendation to serve as a deterrent to illegal poachers.

04 Educating people

Education around the world is another way to help dealers and poachers realise the futility in actually killing of the rhino for its horn. Then there is a need to make them realise that there is no real medicinal value that can be attached to the horn of the rhino.

07 Bans on rhino horn sale

Bans being placed on using rhino horn within Asian countries like Taiwan, Korea, and Japan is certainly contributing as there is not such a high demand for horns like it used to be. Except for places like China, Thailand and Vietnam where the demand is still rising.

08 Local initiatives

Raising funds through holding concerts like the Stand up concert is a useful way to ensure the survival of our rhino as it helps a lot to keep their natural habitat going. Besides poaching, forest fragmentation can also contribute to their numbers decreasing. Local awareness maintains the issue deep close to us and allows the Rhino lobbies to keep pressure on the government to find political solutions.

09 Going Social

If millions of us, electors, tax payers, entrepreneurs, workers raise our voices against rhino poaching and place this dreadful issue in our first priorities we will make things change. There will be more and more initiatives, there will be more action to protect, save, prevent and finally secure the survival of our rhinos. Simply read, share, comment and be active around the rhino survival.

10  Rhino horn poisoning

Positive action needs to be taken to preserve our rhino for our grandchildren and their children. Rhino Protect is a project that was initiated by Damian Vergnaud, who is the owner of Inverdoorn Game Reserve and Safari Lodge. After much discussion and consideration it was decided that it is best to poison the rhino horn, making it unpalatable for human consumption, which is the main reason for poaching taking place.

The good thing about injecting color dye into the rhino horn, is that the 40 minute procedure poses no real threat to the health of the animals involved. As this procedure makes the actual horn worthless, it is a better way to ensure the survival of our rhino.

Campaigns aimed at changing consumer behaviour may ultimately reduce black market rhino horn prices, but fail to address the economic aspirations of the local people who control the animals’ destiny.

Rhino poaching is a serious contemporary global concern. Significant recent growth in demand for rhino horn in Asian consumer markets has driven black market prices to extraordinary levels, undermining attempts to conserve wild rhinos and enforce a worldwide trade ban. A closer analysis of countries that have succeeded in conserving rhinos reveals that they owe much of their success to policies that enhance the direct economic benefits flowing from rhino protection and link these to relevant local people and institutions.

As I think, Model United Nations is the most effective platform to sensitize the world populace about the protection and populace about the protection and conservation of one- horned rhinos. Considering one horned rhinos of Assam as a precious world asset, MUNs may come forward to rescue this species from the verge of extinction. The issue of protection of one-horned rhino may be placed at the august floor of UNGA. In this context,MUN may undertake fruitful initiative in proper direction. If the entire matter go through the right direction, Assam will get a prestigious spot in the map of world tourism.

Disclaimer: Writer is indebted to different write ups during preparation of the article.