Russia participates in the implementation of the international project that will allow to stop rhino slaughtering

Russia’s Ambassador to South Africa H.E.Mr.Ilya Rogachev took part in the launch of the international project “Rhisotope,” initiated by Wits University (South Africa), University of Colorado (USA) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization with the support of the Russian corporation “Rosatom.”

The project’s aim is to stop rhino slaughtering in Southern Africa with the use of nuclear technologies. Annually, poachers in RSA kill over 1,000 these animals for their horns which are in high demand on the illicit market.

The project’s first phase kicked off on 13 May 2021 in Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Scientists introduced stable non-radioactive isotopes C-13 and N-15 into the horns of two rhinos with a view to make their cross-border transportation impossible and significantly lower demand for them. Further implementation of the project includes monitoring the animals’ health conditions in order to make sure the technology is safe for them.

Ambassador I.Rogachev emphasized that Russia attached great importance to the conservation of biodiversity: 2021 had been declared the Year of Science and Technology whereas this project unveiled a brand new area of the use of nuclear technologies, their application for wildlife preservation and struggling the poaching, and in doing so it pursued Russia’s domestic policy in the corresponding fields.

“Over the years, nuclear technologies have played an ever-growing role in human life. From dental X-rays that evolved into CT scans and more recently into PET scans, which are the cutting edge of medical diagnostics, to nuclear power plants  that do not only generate electricity, but are being used to drive water desalination and produce heat which is being used to drive various industrial processes,” the Ambassador noted.