THE REINTRODUCTION OF RHINOS TO GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK, ZIMBABWE: A FEASIBILITY STUDY Institutional, Management and Security Issues Raoul du Toit and Lovemore Mungwashu Biological Aspects and IUCN Reintroduction Guidelines Kevin M. Dunham Feasibility Study for the Development of a Rhino IPZ in Gonarezhou Semester 12a Task 3.1-12.1 PUBLICATION CREDITS: Title: The Reintroduction of Rhinos to Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe: a Feasibility Study Authors: Institutional, Management and Security Issues: Raoul du Toit and Lovemore Mungwashu Biological Aspects and IUCN Reintroduction Guidelines: Kevin M. Dunham Date: May 2005 Special Dr Fay Robertson, PWMA, Malangwe Trust, Mr Bruce Clegg acknowledgements: This report is an output from a task of the SADC Regional Programme for Rhino Conservation ABOUT the SADC Regional Programme for Rhino Conservation: The Programme is funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (Project AID 5064). The Programme is contracted to CESVI and implemented through a regional consortium which comprises: The Secretariat of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) IUCN-ROSA (The World Conservation Union - Regional Office for Southern Africa) The IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group WWF-SARPO - (World Wide Fund for Nature - Southern Africa Regional Programme Office) CESVI (Cooperazione e Sviluppo) The Programme goal is to contribute to maintain viable and well distributed metapopulations of Southern African rhino taxa as flagship species for biodiversity conservation within the SADC region. The Programme objective is to implement a pragmatic regional rhino strategy within the SADC region following the acquisition of sound information on, firstly, the constraints and opportunities for rhino conservation within each range state and secondly, the constraints and opportunities for rhino metapopulation management at the regional level. DISCLAIMER The information, opinions and materials presented herewith do not necessarily reflect the official views of any of the organisations involved, including the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SADC, CESVI, IUCN-ROSA, WWF-SARPO, AfRSG or governments of SADC member countries. CONTACT DETAILS FOR THE PROGRAMME: SADC Regional Rhino Programme Coordinator SADC Secretariat IUCN-ROSA Directorate of Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources 6 Lanark Road, Belgravia, PO Box 745, Harare, P O Box 0095 Zimbabwe Gaborone Tel: 263-4-728266 Fax: 263-4-720738 Botswana CESVI Zimbabwe Office Ministero degli Affari Esteri 9 Coxwell Road, Milton Park, Harare, Zimbabwe Direzione Generale per la Cooperazione allo Tel: 263-4-737099, 737155, 737162-3, 736446 Sviluppo, Unità Tecnica Centrale Fax: 263 4 737182 Viale Contarini (angolo Viale Farnesina) Email: [email protected] 00194 ROMA ITALY The Reintroduction of Rhinos to Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe: A Feasibility Study EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A rhino Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ) is proposed in the northern section (about 1,130 sq. km) of Gonarezhou NP, to receive founder groups of both black and white rhinos. The need to restock the Park with black rhinos arises because a previous reintroduction of this species failed due to poaching (some of which was perpetrated by the staff of the Park) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. White rhinos were never deliberately reintroduced to the Park and the few that strayed in from neighbouring ranches in the 1980s did not persist as a breeding population. The IPZ proposal is reviewed in this report in terms of a range of issues including security, management, institutional, biological and ecological factors, and is evaluated against international guidelines for wildlife reintroduction programmes. The review highlights a number of strengths as well as a number of weaknesses in the proposal. The habitats are sufficiently suitable for a founder population of at least 20 black rhinos, with significant expansion potential, but it is inevitable that some black rhinos will move out of the IPZ in due course, especially towards the south and south-east. Release procedures must be carefully planned to minimize initial dispersal. For white rhinos, habitat suitability is more dubious and the introduction of 20 white rhinos should only be done on an experimental basis with a fall-back plan in place to relocate some or all of the rhinos elsewhere if they demonstrate nutritional problems or excessive dispersal. The security of the proposed IPZ is currently compromised by an invasion of squatters in the north- eastern corner of Gonarezhou NP, which is a manifestation of a long-standing land claim. Resolution of this problem, through a sensitive and sustainable approach rather than through simple eviction of the community, will be a precondition for the establishment of the IPZ, particularly insofar as donor support and private sector investment are concerned. Another major problem is that antipoaching manpower and equipment for the IPZ are likely to remain below recommended levels. To address the land claim as well as the insufficiency of antipoaching resources, the development of a Public/Private Partnership (PPP) is recommended. This would involve private sector investors who could develop some recently-advertised ecotourism concessions within or adjacent to the proposed IPZ, and would create a shareholding for the local community. To achieve economies of scale, this PPP should be linked with existing ecotourism operations in the area. The PPP could play a significant role in rhino monitoring within the IPZ thereby enabling the limited antipoaching resources to be utilized with maximum efficiency. The concept of a PPP, with a conservation role as well as a commercial role and with community participation, is fully in accordance with the management policies of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. i The Reintroduction of Rhinos to Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe: A Feasibility Study OVERVIEW SWOT Analysis • A workshop to review the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the proposed IPZ identified the following factors as critical to the success of the plan to reintroduce rhinos to Gonarezhou NP: Resolution of the present and any potential future land claims and occupations; Securing adequate funding and resources; Development of suitable mechanisms for co-operation and co-ordination with potential partners; and Improved tourism (and staff) access to the Park and the IPZ. Original Populations of Rhinos • Black rhinos were recorded in the vicinity of the present Gonarezhou National Park during the late 19th century. The last black rhino of the original population was killed probably during the 1930s or early 1940s. • The earliest records of the white rhinoceros in the vicinity of Gonarezhou NP are rock paintings. The written records of white rhinos closest to Gonarezhou NP are from 1836/37, 100 km west of the southern-most part of the Park. • There are no material records of the white rhinoceros in Zimbabwe after the 1890s, but there are several unsubstantiated reports of white rhinos in the vicinity of the present Gonarezhou NP during the first 30 years of the 20th century, i.e. after the white rhinoceros was generally thought to be extinct in Zimbabwe. The First Reintroduction of Black Rhinos • Seventy-seven black rhinos were released in the present Gonarezhou NP during 1969-1971. Most were freed north of the Runde River. During the 1970s, a programme for the development of artificial supplies of water for wildlife was initiated, but after 1976 the piped artificial water supplies were closed down for several years. The initiation and then closure of this system may have influenced the dispersal of rhinos. Most sightings of black rhinos were in the northern half of the Park, but two rhinos captured in the north of Kruger NP during 1979-1982 were believed to have come from Gonarezhou. • Between the Save and Runde Rivers, very few black rhinos were seen in the northern half of this area. Instead most rhinos were seen closer to the Runde River, within 10 km of pools that provided drinking water at the end of the dry season even in drought years. The vegetation of this area during the period when it was occupied by black rhinos was described only broadly, but it included thickets that were probably attractive to the rhinos. Several lines of evidence suggest that their density in this area averaged 1 rhino per 10 sq. km. Surveys of the rhinos differed in methods and study areas, but probably the Park’s population at its peak exceeded 100 animals. Poaching • Rhino poaching was recorded soon after the releases, but the number killed increased markedly during 1984. Some staff members of the Department of National Parks & Wild Life Management and some army personnel are alleged to have been involved in this poaching. By 1994, the black rhinoceros was locally extinct for the second time. White Rhinos in Gonarezhou NP • A few white rhinos were seen in Gonarezhou NP during the 1980s, after they entered the Park of their own accord from the adjacent Lone Star Ranch (now Malilangwe Estate). The last of these rhinos was captured and translocated during 1993. ii The Reintroduction of Rhinos to Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe: A Feasibility Study Artificial Supplies of Water for Wildlife • The piped artificial supplies of water for wildlife have not been consistently maintained. From the point-of-view of the animals, these supplies have been opened and closed unpredictably. Cessation of pumping in an area where rhinos have settled can cause social disruption, including intraspecific fighting, and unpredictable dispersal. • The major disadvantages of an artificial supply of water are that: (a) it causes an increase in the local density of elephants and in their impact on the woody vegetation; (b) it is expensive to install and maintain; and (c) cessation of these supplies can disrupt rhino home ranges, causing dispersion and intraspecies fighting. During the severe 1992 drought, the DNPWLM was dependent on the private sector to overhaul and maintain the artificial supply of water in Gonarezhou NP. • It is recommended that the rhino reintroductions are planned on the basis that only natural supplies of water will be available for the rhinos to drink.