International mathematicians and graduate students were set to join in the fight against rhino poaching at next week’s 2013 Mathematics in Industry Study Group of South Africa (Migsa) workshop at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), in Johannesburg.

The five-day workshop, hosted by the Wits School of Computational and Applied Mathematics, was expected to unite mathematicians, graduates, academic researchers and industry in an effort to deliver mathematics-based solutions to current challenges facing South Africa, including the increasing threat to the country’s rhino population.

More than 630 rhino were illegally poached in 2012 – nearly doubling from the 333 killed in 2010 - on the back of increased demand for rhino horn in East Asia.

Two rhino have already been killed in South Africa this year.

Discussing the “optimal management strategy for white rhinoceros” at the workshop next week, academics would examine and outline the benefits, disadvantages and viability of antipoaching solutions, including the re-establishment of a legal trade to generate income to offset protection costs.

“Given various production and cost parameters, we can determine the likely effect of a change in trade policy and various demand parameters (as reflected by the market price of rhino horn),” the university commented.

The mathematicians would determine, based on rhino specialists’ estimations of a minimum viable rhino population in extensive, or wild, conditions, whether a legal trading regime might threaten the so-called wild populations and when.

This could also determine whether intensive, or controlled, rhino managers would need to subsidise the protection costs borne by extensive managers and to what extent, Wits noted.

Many rhino owners were dehorning live animals and adopting intensive management practices, such as overstocking, artificially feeding or genetically manipulating the rhino, in defensive measures against illegal poaching.

The ‘wild' white rhino population, which had generally been excluded from these measures, were more costly to maintain, particularly in terms of security.

Migsa also aimed to tackle other challenges including optimal flat glass shapes, mathematical simulation of a glass furnace and the prediction of glass ribbon shape in a tin bath.

Previous workshops investigated rock bursts, optimization in mining, traffic flow, HIV in the workplace, optimal distribution of goods, renewable energy, robot motion and image processing.

Migsa aimed to create greater awareness of the power of applied mathematics to solve business and industry problems, the university said in a statement.

The conference would take place from Monday, January 14 until Friday, January 18.

OTHER INITIATIVES

South African Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa and Vietnam Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Dr Cao Duc Phat in December signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deal with the illegal trade in rhino horn.

The MoU would also promote cooperation between the two countries in the management, conservation and protection of biodiversity, as South Africa’s government believed the siege on the country’s rhino was driven by international demand for rhino horn from countries such as Vietnam.

The South African National Parks (SanParks) last month secured the services of retired decorated army Major General Johan Jooste to oversee overall antipoaching operations in the Kruger National Park (KNP).

The fight against illegal rhino poaching in KNP also took to the air in December when the park partnered with the Ichikowitz Family Foundation to unveil a sophisticated aerial surveillance aircraft.

The specialist reconnaissance aircraft, a Seeker Seabird would expose illegal poachers through maximum surveillance optimisation and reconnaissance capabilities.

The KNP recorded the largest number of rhino poached in 2012, with 395 rhino killed by December 19.

Meanwhile, SanParks recently began offering cash rewards of R100 000 to members of the public who give information which led to the successful arrest of a suspected poacher and R1-million for a successful conviction of a poaching syndicate mastermind.

SanParks also partnered with South Africa's Crime Line, LeadSA, Primedia and Independent Newspapers for the creation of an anonymous SMS tip-off line.