Rhinos can’t sweat, making them vulnerable to overheating: Global warming could wipe them out in southern Africa

February 16, 2024
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

Rhinos can’t sweat, making them vulnerable to overheating: Global warming could wipe them out in southern Africa

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

The first study on the impact of climate change on rhinos in southern Africa predicts that, under the worst-case scenario of climate change, the region’s national parks could lose all their rhinos by 2085.

Details:

Home to 22,137 of the world’s 23,432 white and black African rhinos, southern Africa is facing significant threats due to climate change.

Why are rhinos in danger of being wiped out?	Rhinos cannot sweat. If they want to cool their large bodies down in the heat, they need to consume a lot of water. They also rely on wallowing in water holes and resting in the shade. As Earth heats up, rhinos will only survive if they have more opportunities to cool down.
Why rhino will not survive the worst scenario?	If the world enters the 8.5 Representative Concentration Pathway, there is zero probability of rhinos surviving in southern Africa.
Solution	National parks will have to be built in many new water sources so that the rhinos can cool off at much more frequent intervals. The parks will also need to establish undisturbed tree cover: large patches of trees with no moving traffic or crop harvesting nearby. Those are important cooling-off areas. Setting up of Rhino corridors.
Challenges	High cost of establishing and maintaining these parks Trophy hunting Urban land encroachment
Could it really be over for Rhinos by 2085?	Researchers explore the potential impact of climate change on rhinos in southern Africa by utilizing the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). They specifically focused on RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 to predict future scenarios for rhinos. RCP 4.5 assumes a moderate increase in CO2 levels to 650ppm by 2100, resulting in a 2.4°C average temperature rise, contingent on significant reductions in methane and CO2 emissions starting now. Under this scenario, rhinos could survive, albeit with challenges for other species. RCP 8.5, the worst-case scenario, predicts a dramatic population increase, continued reliance on coal, failure to reduce greenhouse gases, and a 4.3°C temperature rise by 2100, posing severe risks to rhinos and significantly altering their chance of survival in southern Africa.
What are the Conservation Efforts by India?	The Ministry of Environment and Forests has launched a National Conservation Strategy for the Indian One-Horned Rhino. Moreover, the Assam government constituted a Special Rhino Protection Force to keep a check on rhino poaching and related activities at Kaziranga National Park (KNP). India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia in order to conserve and protect the rhinos signed the New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019. Through unique programmes like Indian Rhino Vision 2020, the government partnered with international, national and local organizations for the conservation of the rhinos.

Source: DTE