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conferenceseries.com
Volume 7, Issue 1 (Suppl) J Ecosyst Ecogr
ISSN: 2157-7625 JEE, an open access journal Biodiversity Congress 2017
April 27-28, 2017
April 27-28, 2017 Dubai, UAE
6th International Conference on
Biodiversity and Conservation
J Ecosyst Ecogr 2017, 7:1(Suppl)
Protection and preservation of the unicorn rhino in the 21st century from extinction
Anurag Hazarika
KK Handique Sate Open University, India
The rhino population in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary had increased from 54 in 1987 to 74 in 1999 and in Kaziranga National Park
it increased from 1164 in 1993 to 1552 in 1999. However, in Orang National Park, the rhino population decreased from 97 in
1991 to only 46 in 1999, mainly because of unabated poaching. In the anti-poaching operation in Pabitora since November 1997,
large numbers of poachers were arrested and arms and ammunition were recovered. Kaziranga witnessed the lowest poaching in
1999 with only 4 rhino killed by poachers, down from 8 in 1998. Anti-poaching staff of Kaziranga arrested 18 rhino poachers in 1999,
a marked increase from 2 in 1998. To ensure the future of the rhino in Assam, forest anti-poaching staff needs further government
support. Habitat conservation and protection need to be given priority. Forest officials, the various collaborating NGOs and local
people need to work together to conserve the rhino in the 21st century. The Kaziranga National Park (KNP) is one of the most
successful stories of conservation of Rhinoceros unicornis in the world. From a population of a mere dozen rhinos in 1908, when the
Kaziranga was declared a forest reserve, the population has grown to 1500 over 90 years of conservation. The rhino census conducted
in Kaziranga in April 1999 recorded a population of 1552 compared with 1164 in 1993. The Poaching will remain as a major threat to
the rhinoceros population. Therefore, anti-poaching efforts have to be improved and maintained. Receiving information in advance
on the movement of poachers and wildlife smugglers is extremely crucial in apprehending illegal wildlife traders and disrupting their
activities. This management technique needs enormous community participation and faith. In the same time the natural calamities
like flood had also added as a chance for poaching due to restricted movement of Rhinoceros. The new possibilities of Forest Rights
Act 2006 can be a help to draw the community faith and to minimize the gap between forest department and the fringe society. The
recent technological intervention used in terms of unmanned aircraft to monitor the park has been measurably failed and is criticized
as loss of public money. Before that some NGOs had also tried to use imported sniffer dogs to trace the movements of poachers. These
practices were found to be a short term measure as both the government authority and NGOs has very limited links to the grass root
abnormalities of the park that lies in connection with the problems of local communities.
A contrast in sustainable energy and enforcement (The United States of America and Nigeria)
Chukwuemeka Chuks-Ezike
Robert Gordon University, UK
The ideal of sustainability is a universal notion that has come in several pack ages such as: Reports (Brundtland Commission Report
of 1987), conferences (such as the Rio de Janerio Earth Summit of 1992 and 2012), etc. Hence, its applicability is not restricted to
a jurisdiction but made manifest in several domestic laws and regional regulations, irrespective of the level of development of such
region. This is because once there is an action that can cause environmental risk or deprive the preservation of resources for future
generations, then the sermon of sustainability becomes a necessity. It even becomes more necessary for countries or regions that
produce oil and gas because of the nature of risks associated with the exploration and production of oil and gas. The passive attitude
towards issues of sustainability by some companies (especially in the upstream oil and gas sector) that reside and operate in Nigeria
shows a clear disregard of the tenets of sustainability. There are several reports (as shall be explored in the work), on severe pollution
from the upstream oil and gas sector by some multi-national companies (MNCs) operating in Nigeria. Interestingly, some of these
MNCs are reputable for their sustainability strides in countries such as United States of America (USA). This is majorly because
environmental offences are expensive in a country like USA (equally an oil producing state). A manifest reaction is the USA’s reaction
to the BP Macondo spill. This raises the question as to the extent of the applicability of environmental rules against acts that can be
deemed as a manifest disregard of sustainable ideals by oil MNCs in Nigeria, in contrast to the USA. Even more, it raises the issue as
to the strictness of existing laws in sanctioning severe acts of pollution in Nigeria.