Chief ranger appointed in the Kruger National Park

The South African National Parks (SANParks) would like to announce the appointment of Xolani Nicholus Funda, as Chief Ranger; managing the whole anti-poaching operations in the Kruger National Park (KNP) effectively from 1 November 2015.

Funda takes over from Major General Johan Jooste, who has since moved to SANParks’ head office and got a promotion on a strategic level position.

“With communities bordering the National Parks as one of the main role players in the fight against wildlife crime; the return of Funda to the organization came at the right time as his experience and knowledge of Conservation expands to community beneficiation issues which have direct benefits to the environment.

As someone who worked as a Ranger in his early career and has continued to impact his conservation awareness throughout, we have faith in Mr Funda’s abilities to face and address the on-going challenges in Conservation”, said KNP Managing Executive, Mr Glenn Phillips.

Until recently, Xolani Nicholus Funda was a Lecturer at the University of Tshwane under the department of Nature Conservation wherein he worked for seven years.

Apart from his conservation experience, he holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the University of Free State.

In his response Nicholus Funda said, “I have nothing but respect for General Jooste as he laid the foundation and formulated the strategies for a smooth coordination between Rangers and other law enforcement agencies when rhino poaching escalated in the KNP.

“He is my boss; and we will continue to work closely as a team, bringing in the different skills and experience when it comes to issues pertaining to wildlife crime.

We would like to thank Nicholas Funda for grabbing this opportunity in the face of poaching challenges and wish him a progressive future career at SANParks,” concluded Phillips.

ABOUT XOLANI:

• Xolani Nicholus Funda’s conservation career in the Kruger National Park began in 2000 as a Ranger, initially as Section Ranger then District Ranger (now called Regional Ranger) in the Southern region of the Park.

• He later took up the position of Park Manager (formerly known as Park Warden) at Marakele National Park and left SANParks in 2005 for private conservation related consultancy work.

• Besides his previous tenure at SANParks, Funda has worked for protected areas such as Transkei and Eastern Cape Nature Conservation, as well as Forestry in Knysna area.

• He has played an instrumental role on the African Rural Initiatives for Sustainable Environments (Arise), an environmental rehabilitation study process which focused on community beneficiation initiatives meant to improve the water flowing into the protected areas via rivers outside e.g. Giyani in Limpopo and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape.

• He is currently studying for an MBA degree on Sustainable Leadership with the Rhodes University.