GUWAHATI: Cross-border illegal trade into Myanmar has now become the primary route for smuggling rhino horns from Assam after the Nepal-China route virtually stopped since 2013 for the clandestine trade following crackdown by the Himalayan nation authorities on rhino poaching networks, according to experts dealing with wildlife crime.
Northeast's Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram shares 1,6,43 km almost porous border with Myanmar.
Ahead of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)'s 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 17) from September 24 to October 5 in Johannesburg, a report by the Asian and African rhino specialist groups of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)-Species Survival Commission (SSC) and TRAFFIC (a wildlife trade monitoring network) has said that the spike in rhino poaching in Assam from 2013 has resulted in at least 24 rhino horn seizures in India, with only two cases suggesting "onward export" to Nepal.
CITES is an international agreement between governments, which aims at ensuring international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
The report said that though the CoP 15 (held in March 2010 in Doha) had indicated that most rhino horns from Assam moved first to Nepal then on to China, the trade patterns have changed since then.
The report authored by Richard H Emslie, Tom Milliken, BibhabTalukdar, Susie Ellis, Keryn Adcock and Michael H Knight pointed out that since the seizures of three rhino horns in Nepal 2010-2011 including a case that involved two Chinese national in that country, the Nepalese law enforcement become more stringent with the dismantling of a rhino poaching network and arresting a major Kathmandu-based trader who allegedly ran a cross-border smuggling from Nepal to Tibet in October 2013.
"Cross-border trade into Myanmar has become the primary route for Assam horns, according to investigations by AsRSG (Asian Rhino Specialist Group) members. TRAFFIC's seizure data supports this view with China making three horn seizures in Yunnan province in 2010-2011 that involved cross-border trade from Myanmar's Kachin state; these seizures are believed to represent greater one-horned rhino," the report said.
Further, it said that in 2015, four rhino horns were also seized in the Muse township in Shan state of Myanmar and in Manipur another rhino horn was seized in the same year.
"Rhino horns have also been observed for sale in Mong La, another border enclave in Myanmar's Shan state that functions as a notorious 'backdoor' wildlife trafficking hub to China," the report cited.
The greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Assam has the largest population of the species in India with an estimated 2,625 rhinos.
The report said though Kaziranga National Park in Assam has 82.5% of India's population, the number is increasing at a slow rate of 1.6% since 2012. According to 2015 estimate, the park has 2,401 rhinos.
At least 40 rhinos poached between 2010 and 2012, and 41 in 2013 in the state. In 2014 and 2015 about 30 and 20 rhinos poached respectively. This year state lost 10 rhinos to poachers so far.
