{"id":14812,"date":"2021-04-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/15-04-2021\/indian-rhino-vision-2020\/"},"modified":"2021-04-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T00:00:00","slug":"indian-rhino-vision-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-04-2021\/indian-rhino-vision-2020","title":{"rendered":"Indian Rhino Vision 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In News<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Recently, the ambitious <strong>Indian Rhino Vision 2020<\/strong> (IRV2020) has <strong>come to a close with the release of two rhinos<\/strong> in Assam\u2019s <strong>Manas National Park<\/strong> transported from <strong>Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About Indian Rhino Vision 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>IRV 2020 was designed by <strong>Rhino Task Force 2005<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Aims<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>To increase Assam\u2019s rhino population to 3000 by 2020, which was done by wild-to-wild translocation from Kaziranga National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary to Manas and Dibru Saikhowa National Parks as well as Laokhowa and Burachopari Wildlife Sanctuaries.<\/li>\n<li>To reduce the risk to the rhino population, mainly from poachers by spreading the population in multiple parks with enough habitats to encourage population growth.<\/li>\n<li>To secure the long-term survival of wild rhinos in Assam by expanding their distribution to reduce risks like disease, in-breeding depression and mass mortality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It is a<strong> unique programme<\/strong> where the government partnered<strong> international, national and local organisations<\/strong> for the conservation of the rhinos.<\/li>\n<li>Under it, Manas has <strong>received a total of 22 rhinos<\/strong> from other protected areas.\n<ul>\n<li>Assam had about 2,000 rhinos when IRV2020 began in 2005.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The<strong> rhino census could not be conducted in 2020<\/strong> because of <strong>Covid-19 restrictions<\/strong> which also <strong>delayed the IRV by a year<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The translocated rhinos helped Manas National Park get back its <strong>World Heritage Site status <\/strong>in <strong>2011<\/strong>.\n<ul>\n<li>Manas, in focus for the<strong> near-extinction of the pygmy hog<\/strong>, <strong>lost <\/strong>the tag it <strong>received in 1985<\/strong> along with Kaziranga from UNESCO.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>It is also expected to contribute to the <strong>mixing of genes <\/strong>from individuals from Kaziranga and Pobitora and set up a<strong> healthy, breeding population<\/strong> of rhinos for the future of the species.<\/li>\n<li>The translocation and e-establishment of a breeding population has made immense contribution to the <strong>conservation of the species<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>plan to introduce or reintroduce the rhino in three protected areas<\/strong> (Laokhowa, Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park)<strong> did not work out <\/strong>for reasons still not known.<\/li>\n<li>Now, the IRV2020 is <strong>believed to have achieved its target <\/strong>of attaining a population of 3,000 rhinos in Assam.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cfstatic.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/file_library\/mix_content\/23691136095656870_image.png\" style=\"height:353px; margin-left:100px; margin-right:100px; width:626px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 (Image Courtesy: <a href=\"https:\/\/intlrhinofoundation.wordpress.com\/2020\/09\/15\/2020-state-of-the-rhino\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRF<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rhinos in India<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only the <strong>Greater One-Horned Rhino<\/strong> is found in <strong>India<\/strong> which is also known as the<strong> Indian rhino<\/strong> and is the <strong>largest of the rhino species<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It is identified by a<strong> single black horn<\/strong> and a <strong>grey-brown hide<\/strong> with <strong>skin folds<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>They primarily <strong>graze<\/strong>, with a <strong>diet <\/strong>consisting almost entirely of <strong>grasses as well as leaves<\/strong>, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Threats<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Habitat loss and fragmentation<\/li>\n<li>Poaching (especially for their horns and hide)<\/li>\n<li>Reducing population density<\/li>\n<li>Decreasing genetic diversity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protection<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IUCN Red List:<\/strong> Vulnerable.<\/li>\n<li><strong>CITES:<\/strong> Appendix I.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: <\/strong>Schedule I.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Other Conservation Efforts<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019: <\/strong>Signed by India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia to conserve and protect the rhinos.<\/li>\n<li><strong>National Rhino Conservation Strategy 2019:<\/strong> Launched to conserve the greater one-horned rhinoceros.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Project to create DNA profiles<\/strong> of all rhinos by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Assam <\/strong>accounts for its <strong>largest population in India<\/strong> and had at least <strong>five rhino-bearing areas<\/strong> till the 1980s.\n<ul>\n<li>Though rhino numbers in the state have grown from 2000 in 2005 to over 2200 in 2009,<strong> more than 90%<\/strong> of these live <strong>in <\/strong>just one Protected Area, which is the <strong>Kaziranga National Park<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Better conservation efforts<\/strong> helped <strong>maintain the population <\/strong>of the one-horned herbivore in<strong> Kaziranga, Orang and Pobitora<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>However, <strong>encroachment and poaching<\/strong> wiped the animal out of <strong>Manas <\/strong>and <strong>Laokhowa <\/strong>Wildlife Sanctuary.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cfstatic.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/file_library\/mix_content\/179428643968465950_image.png\" style=\"height:447px; margin-left:100px; margin-right:100px; width:624px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0(Image Courtesy: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mapsofindia.com\/maps\/wildlife\/wildlife-assam.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MOI<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/other-states\/last-rhinos-translocated-in-assam-under-vision-2020-to-increase-population\/article34309773.ece#:~:text=The%20ambitious%20Indian%20Rhino%20Vision,185%20km%20to%20the%20east.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News Recently, the ambitious Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV2020) has come to a close with the release of two rhinos in Assam\u2019s Manas National Park transported from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. About Indian Rhino Vision 2020 IRV 2020 was designed by Rhino Task Force 2005. Aims To increase Assam\u2019s rhino population to 3000 by 2020, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[36,31,30,26],"class_list":["post-14812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-conservation","tag-government-policies-interventions","tag-gs-2","tag-gs-3"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/1169989Current-Affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}