T

he Jakarta Post recently ran a number of articles on endangered species such as African rhinos and certain types of sharks. While I welcome the Post'€™s environmental concerns, I find that your coverage lacks a certain variety of perspectives. This is deplorable because a democratic marketplace of opinion should at the very least provide a number of opposing views enabling the reader to form his own opinion.

With regard to the looming extinction of certain species, there are numerous examples where private initiatives and market forces have been shown to have positive effects on animal population numbers.

In the case of the African rhino, this is especially clear and well-researched. As environmental economist Michael `t Sas-Rolfes argues in his case study Saving African Rhinos: A Market Success Story, a change in policy that allowed private ownership of wildlife has saved the white rhino from extinction. By 2010, white rhino numbers had climbed to more than 20,000, making it the most common rhino species on the planet. By owning rhinos and profiting from limited trophy hunting, ranchers were incentivized to protect and breed the rhinos.

By contrast, banning the commercial sale of rhino horn causes black market sales to skyrocket and encourages poaching. Lifting the ban enables ranchers to supply the market by harvesting the horns humanely, which then regrow just like fingernails.

Command-and-control approaches relying on regulations and bans that restrict wildlife use have been proven to be ineffective in practice. These approaches are championed by environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace and the WWF. Unfortunately, these NGOs seem to be unwilling or unable to embrace free-market solutions that have been proven to be highly effective in practice.

Sebastian Braun
Jakarta