GPS Devices Installed in African Rhinos' Horns

Original photo: Jim Epler / CC
by Stephen Messenger, Porto Alegre, Brazil

In addition to their thick, leathery hide and imposing stature, now a group of African rhinos have one more tool to help protect them against poachers -- GPS locating devices embedded directly into their horns. Five such animals in South Africa's Mafikeng Game Reserve were recently equipped with the small tracking chips which will help park officials monitor their movements and alert them to any possible threats from illegal hunting. Conservationists hope that by upgrading the animals with technology of the 21st century it may help ensure this endangered species will still be around at the end of it.

According to a report from the BBC, after initial testing earlier this, five rhinos on the reserve were equipped with the GPS chips. Park veterinarians were able to add the tracking devices with very little discomfort to the animal, by placing it in hole drilled into a 'dead' portion of the animals' horns.

The satellite locating device can be monitored by cell phone, allowing officials to know the rhinos' whereabouts and to be alerted to any suspicious movements within the park -- or a concerning lack of movement.

Lead security officer of the park, Rusty Hustler, explains to the BBC how the GPS chips will help officials protect the animals from threats from poachers when an alarm sounds indicating unusual activity:

There are a number of alarms that can be programmed: one for excessive movement, so if the rhino starts running, and another that goes off if the rhino sleeps for longer than six hours, which is abnormal.
Not only will the tracking devices help keep the rhinos alive, says Hustler, but it also could be used to track down any poachers who manage to hack off the chipped horns and elude the authorities. And given the likely success of the program, soon more rhinos may be similarly tagged in the future and in other wildlife reserves throughout the region.

A bit of extra protection couldn't come any sooner for the Africa's endangered rhino population. In recent years the animals have been under increasing threat from the onslaught of poachers who can make a small fortune selling their prized horns in the illegal wildlife trade. Some cultures believe that rhino horns have medicinal qualities -- though they're composed primarily of keratin, like fingernails.

But perhaps, where logic and stepped-up enforcement have failed thus far in adequately protecting one of the world's most majestic and endangered species, this technical upgrade could actually be the thing that helps save them. And, with any luck, we can return to Rhino Beta before too long.

Why the World Must Not Consider Nature 'Priceless'

If Mother Nature had a bank account, she would be one wealthy lady -- at least that's according to a report released today on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). In hopes of countering the notion that environmental systems are literally priceless -- that is to say, without an agreed upon monetary value -- the 10th UN conference for the Convention on Biodiversity aims to quantify nature in economic terms. It is only when the environment is considered a financial asset, claims the report, that the most devastating of human activities will be truly robbed of an economic incentive.

The lead-author of the TEEB report, Pavan Sukhdev, draws a direct parallel between harmful human-caused problems like pollution and habitat loss, and the lack of economic value to placed upon the world's ecosystems:

We argue that the economic invisibility of nature is one of the main drivers for the loss of biodiversity and the ongoing degradation of ecosystem.
In a previous report from TEEB, the convention estimated the value of devastated environmental assets to be at least $2 trillion dollars a year. Now, the group is trying to find a way to enact their assessments in a meaningful way that governments will agree upon globally. The Convention on Biodiversity hopes their latest report will help establish a new international goal for curbing the loss of biodiversity by 2020.

One such example of nature's service that has yet to be measured monetarily is the tireless work of pollinating insects which makes agriculture possible. "A bee doesn't send you and invoice," says Sukhdev, indicating the importance of determining the value of its labor, lest it be exploited or placed in jeopardy.

Reports have placed the value of insects that pollinate human crops at over $211 billion.

Other examples of the economics of nature are as follows, taken from a 2005 report from TEEB, via Time.

US$ 50 billion
The annual loss of opportunity due to the current over-exploitation of global fisheries. Competition between highly subsidized industrial fishing fleets coupled with poor regulation and weak enforcement of existing rules has led to over-exploitation of most commercially valuable fish stocks, reducing the income from global marine fisheries by US$50 billion annually, compared to a more sustainable fishing scenario (World Bank and FAO 2009).

US$30 billion - US$172 billion

The annual value of human welfare benefits provided by coral reefs. Although just covering 1.2% of the world's continent shelves, coral reefs are home to an estimated 1-3 million species including more than a quarter of all marine fish species. (Allsopp et al. 2009). Some 30 million people in coastal and island communities are totally reliant on reef-based resources as their primary means of food production, income and livelihood. (Gomez et al. 1994, Wilkinson 2004) Estimates of the value of human welfare benefits provided by coral reefs range from US$30 billion (Cesar et al. 2003) to US$172 billion annually (Martinez et al. 2007)

While it might be hard to argue with the importance of giving nature the monetary value she's due, getting governments and corporations to acknowledge it will be an up-hill battle. "It could happen, but not in today's environment," Patrick Michaels of the Cato Institute told the New York Times. "Right now, people -- and not just in the US -- people are worried about the economic contractions more than they are about environmental protection."

But monetizing nature, if you will, would not necessarily create a new financial burden to a world in troubled economic times. The NY Times cites a situation in which farmers in New York were given a $1 billion incentive to reduce water pollution caused by runoff. In the long run, the state saved $8 billion dollars by not having to build a wastewater treatment plant that would have been needed to combat the problem without better agricultural management.

So far, developing nations like Brazil and India have stepped forward in support of the TEEB report's findings, and they aren't alone. The EU has also voiced their willingness to comply with creating a system by which the environment would be placed into the marketplace along with other global assets.

Sukhdev says he hopes that, despite however long it may take to achieve a international consensus on the TEEB report, it will only be a matter of time before the United States signs on as well. "We are at a state now where the rate of loss of ecosystem services and the rate of loss of biodiversity is so severe we cannot treat them as mere externalities of economics," he said.

It only makes sense that Mother Nature be valued appropriately in a world that runs on money -- after all, if she continues to be exploited without consequence, perhaps one day our currencies may only be valuable for kindling.