SKUKUZA – The Kruger National Park (KNP) now has a new head of anti-poaching operations.
Mr Xolani Nicholus Funda has taken over the reigns on November 1 as Gen (ret) Johan Jooste has been promoted to SANParks’ head office 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 benefication issues which have direct benefits to the environment.
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“As someone who has worked as a ranger in his early career and has continued to impact his conservation awareness throughout, we have faith in Funda’s abilities to face and address the ongoing challenges in conservation,” said KNP managing executive, Mr Glenn Phillips.
Until recently, 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.
“I have nothing but respect for Gen 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,” Funda said.
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“We would like to thank Funda for grabbing this opportunity in the face of poaching challenges and wish him a progressive future career at SANParks,” concluded Phillips.
Funda’s conservation career in the Kruger National Park began in 2000. He initially worked as section ranger before being promoted to 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 the Knysna area.
