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by Kees
Rookmaaker
When a large contingent of the world’s rhino community
met at the International Elephant and Rhino Research Symposium
held in
Vienna in June 2001, there was a wide-spread perception that the
communication between rhino researchers in different continents and
countries needed to be improved to be able to use all funds effectively
and efficiently (Pp. 346-352 in H.M. Schwammer, T.J. Foose, M. Fouraker
and D. Olson, A research update on elephants and rhinos: proceedings
of the International Elephant and Rhino Research Symposium, Vienna,
June 7-11, 2001. Münster: Schüling, 2002). We are all aware
that there is a considerable store of knowledge about the five living
species of rhinoceros in Africa and Asia, published in books and
papers or stored away in reports and dissertations. While acknowledging
the importance of the existing data as a foundation for further research
and management issues, access to the literature is time-consuming
and often impractical. With the initial support of the International
Rhino Foundation and SOS Rhino, several steps were taken after the
Vienna Symposium towards the establishment of a ARhino Resource Center@
(abbreviated as RRC) dedicated to the storage and dissemination of
everything pertaining to the rhinoceros.
Considerable progress has
been made in the last two years. The Rhino Resource Center has
been registered as a charity in The Netherlands
and a board has been constituted with Dr Nico J. van Strien as
chairman, Prof Dr Rob Visser as secretary/treasurer and Dr Esmond
Bradley Martin
as the first international member. The initiative has received
the endorsement of the IUCN Species Survival Programme, as well
as the
Asian and African Rhino Specialist Groups. With Kees Rookmaaker
as the chief editor, assistance with elusive French sources is
volunteered
by Dr Henri Carpentier of Paris.
As a result of earlier projects and
a lifetime of interest in the rhinoceros, a substantial amount
of literature on the five species
of rhinoceros has already been assembled. At the moment (June 2003)
the collection has close to 8700 references dating from Roman times
up to the latest books and articles, available in original or photocopies.
The list of subjects is surprisingly wide, ranging from the traditional
biological disciplines, to husbandry, management and veterinary
studies, to the importance of the animal in different cultures.
In fact, the
rhinoceros is found in so many studies in such a variety of interests,
that it is safe to say that anybody venturing outside their immediate
speciality is likely to find some new and refreshing insights in
the works of colleagues in other disciplines.
The RRC is set up to
get the right information to the right people at the right time.
The RRC has opted to give access to all data through a website
on the internet,
registered as
www.rhinoresourcecenter.com
This website is available worldwide
and at this time contains a full bibliography of all titles in
the collection, which can be searched
by author, date or word
in the title.
There is also access to a database
of Anotes@ on the rhinoceros, which again can be searched by subject,
species or geographic location. Whatever
the interest of the user, the result is a list of relevant data, which not
only gives the full title of the publication, but also the exact
text pertaining to
that particular topic.
While this is only a beginning, there
is ample scope for the RRC to be established as a center for all
information on research, conservation
and management of all
five species of rhinoceros. There will be a database of all current workers
on the rhinoceros in the field and in captivity. However, to achieve
optimum benefit
for the global rhino community, the work of the RRC needs to be expanded and
upgraded. The work can only be done when there is a long-term commitment of
funding from organizations, zoological gardens or individuals,
who can thus make an important
contribution to rhinoceros research and conservation.
The Rhino Resource Center
(charity number 30185802), Chairman Dr Nico J. van
Strien (email: strien@compuserve.com)
Dr Kees Rookmaaker, Chief Editor, Rhino
Resource Center, c/o IUCN Species Survival Programme, 219c Huntingdon Road,
Cambridge CB3 0DL, United Kingdom (email: rhino@rookmaaker.freeserve.co.uk)
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