NAIROBI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Thursday launched the southern and northern white rhino subspecies conservation and management action plan in order to boost recovery of the iconic species.
Najib Balala, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, that the action plan provides a roadmap to keep rhino poaching below one percent of the total population per annum by enhancing protection.
"The strategy is a recovery plan for the species as well as for tourism and community conservation education," Balala said during the occasion to mark the World Wildlife Day.
He said the population of the southern white rhino in Kenya has increased since it was introduced in Kenya from Southern Africa in the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s.
He observed that the current population of southern white rhinos stands at 871 up from 750 in 2020.
According to the ministry of wildlife, the white rhinos are categorized as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and the northern subspecies or northern white rhino is listed as critically endangered.
Balala revealed that a large proportion of the southern white rhinos is managed by private organizations in Kenya. ■