India has begun Project Rhino, a national effort to support the conservation of the greater one-horned rhinoceros. The announcement came on World Rhino Day from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The project is intended to provide financial and technical support to the states where rhinos live. Its work will include protection, habitat management, genetic improvement, and better understanding of population changes.
The government says Assam is home to nearly 80 percent of the world’s rhino population. It also pointed to protection and returning rhinos in parts of Bihar and West Bengal, along with a successful reintroduction effort in Dudhwa, Uttar Pradesh.
The announcement does not yet give a budget or a detailed timetable. It does set out a national framework for building on conservation work that has already helped the species in several parts of India.
