Namibia proposes white rhino downlisting

Namibia wants to downlist its white rhino population in an effort to facilitate the trade in live animals for in-situ conservation and trophy hunting.This is but one of the proposals that will be heard at this year’s World Wildlife Conference, where stricter trade regulations for nearly 600 animals and plant species, believed be under threat of extinction from international trade, will be considered.The proposals have been put forward by the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and will be reviewed at the meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) that will take place in Panama from the 14 to 25 November.CITES has just published these proposals and says, in what is seen as a barometer for the state of the world’s wildlife, just nine species are being recommended for less restrictive trade regulations.In essence the Namibian government has put forward a proposal to downgrade its white rhino population from CITES Appendix I to Appendix II.Appendix I contains the list of species threatened with extinction, while Appendix II is a list of species with looser protections.Growth“This proposal therefore is simply a downlisting proposal, with no consequential actions being implemented other than to facilitate the trade in live animals for in-situ conservation, and legally hunted trophies which in turn will enhance the conservation of the species and its habitat,” the government proposed.Namibia’s white rhino population has grown from 16 animals in 1975 to the current national population of 1 237.Most white rhino in Namibia are privately owned, currently totalling 952 animals in around 85 populations, with large numbers imported from South Africa since 2012.The state-owned population in 2021 comprised 285 animals in three protected areas.Namibia has exported 54 white rhinos between 2008 to 2021 to Angola, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa and Zambia. However, the “primarily commercial purposes” restriction applying to Appendix I animals has severely limited Namibia’s ability to generate revenues for conservation.The government says that transferring the population to Appendix II will create access to a far larger market for white rhinos.“The prices for Appendix I white rhinoceros in Namibia are lower than the South African prices because marketing opportunities are far more restricted. South African buyers will not pay Appendix II market-related prices for Appendix I animals due to the restrictions that apply to Appendix I animals.”Further: “Namibia can thus not find sufficient markets for surplus live rhinoceros and encourage meaningful private sector participation in rhino conservation in a commercially driven economy with the existing CITES Appendix I restrictions and conditions. If Namibia can encourage private sector participation in rhino conservation as South Africa has so successfully done, the amount of habitat available to white rhinoceros and occupied by white rhinoceros can be vastly increased,” the proposal explains.

Namibia proposes white rhino downlisting

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-26

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Namibia proposes white rhino downlisting

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-26

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