Pretoria: South African is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam to address the on-going poaching of rhino, says the Department of Environmental Affairs.

“South Africa’s efforts to address the on-going poaching of rhino for its horns will be taken to a new level when South Africa signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnam at the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),” said the department.

COP 11 is expected to be held in Hyderabad, India, from 8 to 19 October.

The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Biodiversity Conservation and Protection will cover co-operation between South Africa and Vietnam in the field of biodiversity management, law enforcement, compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and other relevant legislation.

In South Africa, a total of 373 rhinos have been killed since the beginning of this year.

The Kruger National Park has lost 229 rhinos, while Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the North West provinces continue to be the hardest hit by poachers – collectively accounting for the loss of 117 rhinos.

The number of individuals arrested in connection with rhino poaching is 199. Of those arrested, 176 are at the level of poacher, 10 are receivers and 13 are couriers.