Importance of private and communal lands to sustainable conservation of Africa's rhinoceroses

A new path for rhinoceros (rhino) conservation is needed. Recent data signal the alarming impact of poaching on populations in Africa's rhino stronghold, state-run Kruger National Park (South Africa), which today supports one quarter rhinos than a decade ago. We aggregated African population data, highlighting growing role private and community custodians, who likely now conserve >50% rhinos. Their contribution has been enabled by supportive policy economic environment, but this arrangement becoming more difficult to sustain as costs associated with protecting skyrocket revenue-generating options become insufficient. Some privately held are small or intensively managed, raising questions about their value. As custodianship becomes increasingly central protection remaining rhinos, its resilience must be strengthened through implementation adaptive policies that incentivize conservation. outline pathways provide an enabling environment beyond state parks.