Conservation efforts for the greater one-horned rhino in the State of West Bengal, India, have been exemplary, as we learned during a visit there in February 2012. Rhino numbers have been steadily rising in both the 80 km2 Gorumara National Park and 216 km2 Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary. In 1985 there were only eight rhinos in Gorumara and 14 in Jaldapara but by the 2004 census they had reached 25 and 96, and there are now 40 and 150 rhinos in these two protected areas, respectively. From 1994 to 2011 only nine rhinos were recorded to have been poached in West Bengal. Jaldapara is now home to the third largest rhino population in Asia. This is a major success story at a time when most news about rhinos has been desperately bad, especially from Vietnam, Cameroon, South Africa and Zimbabwe. What can other countries learn about rhino protection from this little-known region that receives so few foreign visitors and little foreign or NGO assistance?
Both the Central and State governments have put generous and well-allocated funds into Gorumara and Jaldapara: over USD 5,000 per km2 per year, one of the highest for any government rhino protected area. This permits the unusually high figure of more than one person per km2 for patrolling and habitat management and considerable resources for local communities. West Bengal officials recognize that rhinos are a cultural heritage of the State and attract many Indian tourists. They are also aware that to save rhinos the local people must receive direct benefits.
The State government's Forest Department has established numerous eco-development projects benefiting the villagers that live on the fringes of these protected areas. Eco-development committees hold regular meetings with forest staff to discuss how to spend funds. Additional money comes from a percentage of the tourist revenue received from the two protected areas. The Forest Department has set up eco-lodges that employ local staff and has established other tourist enterprises, such as handicraft making and demonstrations of tribal dancing, to bring money to the villagers. To deter people from relying on the forest officials have encouraged other livelihoods such as tailoring and piggeries. The government provides funding for injury and death caused by large animals, and there is also compensation for damage to crops, livestock and houses, which is not always the case in India. The Department also provides employment for villagers in the protected areas, as guides and jeep drivers, for example. Both Gorumara and Jaldapara also hire many local people part-time. The villagers assist when needed, including in anti-poaching, fire control and providing information on potential poachers.
The villagers understand that if the forest and its animals are well protected they will receive greater benefits from the Forest Department. ‘If the people protect the jungle and its animals, they can be sustained by it’, explained a Range Officer in Gorumara who gives the villagers regular talks about the benefits of conserving rhinos and the forest. He acknowledged that having thousands of pairs of eyes around Gorumara and Jaldapara provides the best wall of protection. Although the region is close to the porous borders with Nepal, Bhutan and China, foreign poachers are rarely able to penetrate this barrier of local people. The villagers are a close-nit community who want to protect their rhinos. The forest staff have carried out awareness campaigns on rhino conservation, and effective management in the Forest Department has boosted staff morale and motivation. Mobile phones have strengthened the information gathering process (cf. Oryx, 46, 137–144), helping to prevent poaching more effectively. The Department's activities are transparent, whereby anyone, including forest guards, can contact senior staff to report corruption, and the media is active in reporting misdemeanours. Officials follow up on such reports. Penalties for illegal killing of wildlife and trading in wildlife products are sufficient and often implemented.
Despite the high export price for rhino horn of c. USD 13,000 kg−1, rhino poaching is now under control in West Bengal because of ever-improving vigilance. It is a success story from which other rhino range states can learn that the concept ‘man management is the best management for protected areas’ actually works, by winning the confidence and trust not only of the staff but also of the local people.
