Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya
THE International Rhino Foundation (IRF), in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN), has launched a ground-breaking leadership programme aimed at empowering frontline rhino conservationists in countries including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya, and Indonesia.
Dubbed “Rising Wildlife Leaders: Careers,” the initiative will provide selected participants with specialised training, mentorship, and career support over the next three years to strengthen rhino conservation efforts globally.
In a statement yesterday, the IRF executive director Ms Nina Fascione said the programme, which starts this month, is designed to equip conservationists working directly with rhino populations with the skills they need to make lasting impacts in their communities and beyond. She said this transformative programme known as “Rising Wildlife Leaders: Careers” will equip local conservationists in the countries where rhinos live with the skills, mentorship, and career support they need to make a lasting impact.
Ms Fascione said in the next three years, selected participants will receive individualised training, peer learning opportunities, and professional guidance to bolster their leadership in rhino conservation.
“All five rhino species are at risk and need all the help they can get. This new programme will strengthen the corps of conservationists working to protect these incredible animals. Together with the Wildlife Conservation Network, we’re making sure rhinos have a fighting chance,” she said.
According to the director of WCN’s Rhino Recovery Fund, Mr Markus Hofmeyr, securing the future of rhinos and equipping conservationists is very critical. He said at the moment there were now less than 28 000 rhinos across Africa and Asia which need protection.
Mr Hofmeyr said they are working extra hard to ensure that the conservation efforts receive the necessary resources and support to secure the species’ survival.
“Securing their future means equipping conservationists with the experience and on-the-ground expertise needed to lead the way. Having an entirely rhino-focused Rising Wildlife Leaders: Careers cohort this year gives me tremendous hope. Through this collaboration with the International Rhino Foundation, we’re working to ensure that conservation efforts receive the resources and support needed to secure the species’ survival,” he said.
The inaugural cohort includes six conservationists working on the frontlines to protect Javan, black, white, and Sumatran rhinos. They include Diana Marewangepo (Zimbabwe), a senior terrestrial ecologist for the Harare region with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), working to conserve both black and white rhinos, and Donald Misheck, also from Zimbabwe, who is Rhino coordinator with Gonarezhou Conservation Trust, focused on black rhino conservation.
Others are Deoclearancia Lorna Dax (Namibia), a programme and partnership development assistant for Save the Rhino Trust, working to protect desert-adapted black rhinos, Dedi Riyanto (Indonesia), who is the area manager with Yayasan Badak Indonesia at Ujung Kulon National Park, safeguarding the critically endangered Javan rhino, Ilham Ananda (Indonesia), Sumatran rhino rescue manager with the Leuser Conservation Forum Foundation, and
Kenneth Ayiego (Kenya), a rhino programme manager with WWF Kenya, focusing on black rhino conservation.
The Rising Wildlife Leaders: Careers programme is envisaged to reduce barriers to employment, foster career growth, and ensure conservation leadership remains rooted locally in the regions where it is needed most. By investing in the next generation of rhino conservation leaders, the programme is also expected to sharpen local expertise, enhance decision-making, and secure a sustainable future where rhinos thrive in the wild and holistic conservation approaches are taken.
