In April of this year I will be running the 2009 London marathon to raise money for Save the Rhino. 

I know that for many of you these are uncertain times and that you are thinking very carefully about which cause you give your donations to.  I would like to take the opportunity to tell you a little about what Save the Rhino does around the world and how, by supporting them, you are not only ensuring the survival of this magnificent species but you are also empowering some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. 

Rhino are on the brink of extinction. The world rhino population has reduced from 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century to fewer than 18,000 surviving today.

The first threat to rhino is the loss of their ecosystem.  As with the precipitous decline in American Bison during the 19th century, the loss of such mega herbivores has the potential to fundamentally alter the ecosystem balance.  Protecting rhino ensures that ecosystem integrity is maintained, affording their more illustrious stable-mates, such as lions, tigers, giraffe and cheetahs the opportunity to survive and flourish.

But more than that, protecting the ecosystems where rhino live also helps the larger, human, communities that rely on that same ecosystem. Looking after the rhino habitat means, for example, that watershed integrity is maintained, allowing the larger population centres further downstream to have more reliable and cleaner water resources.

The second major threat to rhino is poaching.  Poachers kill rhino for their horns. Made of a protein called keratin, which is also found in human hair and nails, rhino horn is used for two main purposes:
• traditional medicine in the Far East, where ground horn is used to reduce fever.
• to make handles for jambiyas – ornamental daggers worn in Yemen.

There are currently 18,000 rhino surviving in the wild and these are spread across three continents.  They are further split into five distinctly different sub-species. Of these sub-species:
• only approximately 11,100 White Rhino still exist at the moment, making this species near threatened;
• only 3,600 Black Rhino, 2,400 Indian Rhino, 300 Sumatran Rhino and only 60 Javan Rhino exist; making all of these species critically endangered.

However, rhino conservation has proved very successful. 100 years ago there were only 50-200 white rhino surviving in the wild. Concerned conservationists established protection and breeding programmes and brought them back from the verge of extinction to the point where the species is regularly being reintroduced back into ranges in which it had previously gone extinct.

Save the Rhino, which was founded in 1994, supports many projects which aim to mitigate the environmental and human threats to rhino conservation.  They do this by fundraising for and making grants to rhino and community-based conservation projects in Africa and Asia.The funds raised are used to support projects that address rhino conservation through a number of measures:

- Community conservation programmes that develop sustainable methods, by which local communities can creatively manage natural resources.
- Environmental education programmes that teach children and adults about the importance of preserving natural resources and address human-wildlife conflict issues.
- Anti-poaching and monitoring patrols, which detect and deter poachers, and gather information about rhino ranges and numbers.
- Translocations, so that rhino from established populations can be reintroduced to former habitats.
-Research into the threats to rhino survival and alternatives to the use of rhino horn.
-Veterinary work, such as the implanting of transmitters into horns, or removal of snares.

In order to safeguard the future of their projects, Save the rhino are committed to long-term support and development. With additional funding, they can go beyond just protecting the rhinos and help all five species to thrive. To do this, your help is needed.

So please come together and afford these magnificent animals, the species that live alongside them and the wider communities that depend on them the opportunity to not only survive, but flourish!

You can support me by making a secure online donation on this page (and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation) or by sending a cheque, made out to Save the Rhino, to me:

Petra Duguid
Norton Place, Bishop Norton, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire LN8 2AX, United Kingdom

Many thanks for any support you feel able to give.  .