SAVE THE RHINO! BOND LAUNCHED TO PROTECT ENDANGERED SPECIES

A GROUND-BREAKING bond has been launched in a bid to save the black rhino.

It will be sold by the World Bank later this year and investors will only be rewarded when rhino numbers rise in South Africa.

Black rhinos are endangered after years of hunting and poaching for their horns.

There are just 5,500 around today – down from 65,000 in 1970 – and they can be found across southern Africa including in Kenya, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

The new form of finance has been described as revolutionary and, if successful, the project will be expanded to protect black rhinos in Kenya as well as lions, tigers, gorillas and orangutans.

The charity World Wide Fund for Nature said: ‘The black rhino is critically endangered, and a lot of work remains to bring the numbers up to even a fraction of what it once was. Wildlife crime continues to plague the species and threaten its recovery.’

The five-year $45m bond will be the world’s first wildlife conservation bond. The aim is to increase the rhino population by 4pc in two reserves in South Africa, the Addo Elephant National Park and the Great Fish River Nature Reserve, both of which are owned by the state.

Nick de Goede, Addo park manager, said: ‘It couldn’t have come at a better time, we have to look after the rhino. The whole idea is to look at the rhino as a pilot and then it can be rolled out for any species.’

The launch comes amid a race to fund worthy projects as investors look to change the world. This month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said green bonds would be used so investors can buy into projects to accelerate Britain’s push to become a net zero carbon economy.