location map of Hluhluwe and Umfolozi
The Rhino Management Group (RMG) was formed in 1989 by all the relevant conservation departments to give support to the plan. The RMG debates the concerns raised by conservation agencies and private owner representatives, develops appropriate strategies, provides advice and co-ordinates certain activities to assist the various agencies in achieving their goals for black rhinos in the region. Annual status reports of all the black rhino populations in the region are submitted to the RMG for comparative data analysis. This analysis helps the reserve management authorities to make sound biological management decisions. which are seen against the regional meta-population goals set out in the plan. The provision of the revised population estimates is a key part of the annual status report.
National Conservation Plan At a meeting to discuss black rhinos in Zimbabwe in September 1985, the African Elephant and Rhino Specialist Group (AERSG) of IUCN agreed that all participating countries should draft a National Conservation Plan for the black rhino. The South African/Namibian plan sets out specific goals for black rhino conservation in the region and gives advice on necessary management and monitoring. This plan was adopted in 1989 by all the conservation departments in South Africa and Namibia which are responsible for looking after rhinos. The plan was designed to provide regional goals for the black rhino, as well as guidelines to facilitate their achievement. The primary goals of the plan are to develop, as rapidly as possible, and to conserve, in the long term, genetically viable populations of at least 2.000 Diceros bicornis minor and 2,000 D. b. bicornis in their natural habitats. and at least 100 D. b. michaeli in the wild in the region.
