Save the Rhino Charity
What they do
Save the Rhino Charity support a number of ongoing rhino conservation programmes by funding a range of activities with grants and in collaboration with their conservation partners. Save the Rhino International focuses on genetically viable populations of critically endangered rhinoceros species in the wild. "Genetically viable" populations are generally taken to mean those with a minimum of 20 individuals. In some areas, smaller populations have been known to breed successfully, although it is not know what the impact is on the long-term genetic diversity of such a population.
For rhino populations to qualify as being "wild", three conditions must be satisfied:
- They must be free-ranging within an area large enough to sustain a breeding group
- The area in question must consist of natural rhino habitat
- They must survive by feeding off natural vegetation in the area (ie, without human intervention)
About Save the Rhino Charity
Mission statement
Save the Rhino International works to conserve viable populations of critically endangered rhinos in Africa and Asia. They recognise that the future of wildlife is inextricably linked to the communities that share its habitat. By funding field projects and through education, their goal is to deliver material, long-lasting and widespread benefits to rhinos and other endangered species, ecosystems and to the people living in these areas.
Aims
- To increase the number of rhinos in genetically viable populations in the wild
- To enhance the integrity of ecosystems
- To ensure that local communities benefit from conservation activities
Primary objectives
- To provide financial support for in situ projects focused on all five of the rhinoceros species
- To encourage and enable the sharing of information, experience and skills between rhino programmes, ex situ and conservation organisations
- To measure and improve the effectiveness of their grant-making and charitable activities
- To raise awareness of the need for rhino conservation and communicate the work of Save the Rhino
Their grant-making activities
The funds they raise are used to support projects that address rhino conservation through a number of measures:
- Community conservation programmes that develop sustainable methods by which local communities can creatively manage natural resources
- Environmental education programmes that teach children and adults about the importance of preserving natural resources and address human-wildlife conflict issues
- Anti-poaching and monitoring patrols, which detect and deter poachers and gather information about rhino ranges and numbers
- Translocations, so that rhinos from established populations can be reintroduced to former habitats
- Research into the threats to rhino survival and alternatives to the use of rhino horn
- Veterinary work, such as the implanting of transmitters into horns, or removal of snares
Their approach
- They employ a pragmatic approach focused on viable populations, and are not sentiment-driven
- They support the sustainable use of natural resources for the mutual benefit of wildlife, habitat and local communities
- They support the sustainable use of wildlife (i.e. culling, cropping and hunting) provided it is legal and the profits are ploughed back into conservation
- They do not create or run their own projects in the field; rather, they find rhino conservation projects that they think are doing a good job, and then fund them
- They prefer to work with projects on a long-term basis, rather than making one-off or ad hoc grants
- They believe in the value of partnership working with other in situ and ex situ NGOs and conservation organisations