Ms N Magomola – Chair

Position/ Title: Lawyer and leading businesswoman

Ms M. E. Nana Magomola has a BSc degree (City University of New York), LLB degree (University of Witwatersrand) and Executive Development Diplomas from; Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; National University of Singapore and Gordon Institute of Business Sciences (University of Pretoria). Currently a consultant, her most recent position was Executive Director: South African Responsible Gambling Foundation and previous to that, she was Director-General, Office of the Premier in the North West Provincial Government.

Magomola is a lawyer and leading businesswoman with more than 30 years’ senior management experience in major South African companies (including Eskom) and is Chair of South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). She has served as chairperson and director of several national and international companies, including Transnet Ltd, Reebok (SA) Pty Ltd, and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Appointed by former President Nelson Mandela as a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and later Deputy Chair of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust, she has also been a long standing member of the Board of Governors; Rhodes University.

Magomola is co-founder and Life member of the Business Women’s Association (BWA), an organisation renowned for its prestigious “Annual Business Woman of the Year Awards.” She is Global Director of International Women’s Forum (IWF), headquartered in Washington, DC. IWF is a forum of world women leaders i.e. CEO’s and Chairpersons of Multinational Companies, Heads of States, Presidents of Universities, distinguished Authors and Actors.

 At a global conference in San Francisco, Ms Magomola was selected as a 2012 recipient of the prestigious   “Women Who Make a Difference” Award. Her work has been profiled in a variety of publications and electronic media and her schedule includes lectures and speeches at local and international Institutions and Conferences.

Adv Pieter du Rand 

Organisation / Department: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD)

Position/ Title: Chief Director: Court Services

Advocate Pieter du Rand is currently a Chief Director: Court Services at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD).

He deals with policy development issues relating to, amongst others, court efficiency, Criminal Justice System Review-related issues, and Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster-related issues. He is the Coordinator of the National Criminal Case Backlog Reduction Intervention and chairs the JCPS National Development Committee which deals with transversal JCPS and criminal justice system coordination aspects.

He also represents the Department on various JCPS Priority Committees and structures, including the JCPS Cybersecurity Committee. He is also the Program Director in the Department dealing with the establishment of Small Claims Courts in SA.

He further represents the Department on the Board of Legal Aid SA; and is a Board Member of the Debt Collectors’ Council. 

Mr Du Rand is admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

Keith Anthony Lockwood

Organisation/Department: Self-Employed

Position/ Title: Economic Consultant

Keith Lockwood was born and raised in Johannesburg, and has studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. He was employed as an economist at the Central Merchant Bank [Senbank], the South African Federated Chamber of Industries [FCI] and the South African Chamber of Business [SACOB], before becoming an independent economic and business consultant in 1997. 

Since commencing work as an economic consultant Keith has participated in research and advisory projects across a number of different sectors and policy fields, ranging from financial services, construction, infrastructure, and local economic development to skills development, regional integration, tax policy and industrial policy.

In many cases this has necessitated an integration of detailed quantitative analysis with qualitative perspectives arising from interactions with business people, academics and policy-makers. In response to the rapid increase in rhino poaching, he developed a model of the market for rhino horn to assist in developing appropriate policy choices.

In addition to his consulting work, Keith is an adjunct faculty member of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and regularly makes presentations to some of South Africa’s leading corporations.

Peter Gastrow

Organisation: Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

Position/Title: Senior Adviser

Peter Gastrow studied economics and law and then worked in the office of the Attorney General before establishing his own practice as an advocate of the Supreme Court. He was a member of the South African parliament, served on the National Peace Committee, and chaired the Law and Order Sub-council of the transitional government prior to the April 1994 elections. After 1994 he became special adviser to the Minister for Safety and Security. Between 1998 and 2009 he was the Cape Town director of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) where he focused on organized crime and corruption.

In 2009 he joined the international Peace Institute in New York as a Senior Fellow and Director of Programs, focusing on transnational organized crime. During this time he was involved in establishing the ‘Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime’, which has become an independent international initiative aimed at reshaping thinking, strategies and responses to international organized crime. He is based in Cape Town.

Mpe Nthabiseng Malefane 

Organisation/Department: International Relations and Cooperation

Position/Title: Director: Environment, Science and Technology

Ms Malefane holds a Master of Science degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, she has majored in ecology and environmental chemistry. She has 15 years’ experience in international relations, including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. She has served as a Deputy Head of Mission in Asia.

Sam Ferreira

Organisation/Department: South African National Parks (SANParks)

Position/Title: Large Mammal Ecologist

Sam M. Ferreira has a PhD focusing on restoration and community ecology from the University of Pretoria in 1997. From 1984 to 1989 Sam worked as laboratory assistant at the Shortridge Mammal Collection of the Kaffrarian Museum in King William’s Town. Over the summer of 1986/87, he was part of the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Marion Island Feral Cat Eradication Programme. During the summer of 1989/90, Sam coordinated the Marion Island Seal Research Field Programme of the University of Pretoria. From 1992 to 1997 he coordinated the University’s Richards Bay Dune Forest Restoration Research Programme. 

Rhino experience - Sam provides scientific support for rhino management of SANParks and South Africa, and is a co-opted member of the African Rhino Specialist Group. He has published six peer-reviewed papers and several reports associated with ongoing projects on biological management; tactical intelligence for security, crime network disruption; approaches to improve livelihoods of people living next to parks; and risk-benefit evaluations of the sustainability of various strategic management scenarios.

Pelham Jones

Organisation: Private Rhino Owners Association (PROA)

Position/Title: Chairman

Pelham has over 30 years conservation experience and is a private reserve and rhino owner. When the first rhino were poached on private reserves in late 2008, he realized the need to establish an organization to represent the needs of the private rhino owners.

In September of 2009 PROA was established under his guidance and is today recognized as a national body to lobby for and coordinate assistance to private reserves faced with ever increasing poaching pressure. PROA is a voluntary association with its own constitution and serves as a focus group within WRSA.

Since 2009 he and PROA have been involved in every facet of rhino protection an assisting private owners. Security nodes have been established, donor equipment and specialist Anti Poaching Units (APU) have been deployed in addition to interaction with Government Departments. 

PROA attended CITES Bangkok in 2012 as a registered NGO and accordingly are well acquainted with the process and CoP meeting protocols.

Dr David Madoda Mabunda

Organisation/Department: Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

Position/Title: Acting Chief Executive Officer

Dr David Mabunda holds a PhD from the University of Pretoria in Conservation tourism in Development on the management of tourism in protected areas, a Master’s degree in Environmental Management (Victoria Manchester University) and a post graduate diploma in Development Studies from Wits University.  He is currently the Acting CEO of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and is a former Director of the Kruger National Park and erstwhile CEO of SANParks.  His interest is in participation in curbing rhino poaching.

Dr Jo Shaw

Organisation/Department: WWF South Africa

Position /Title:  Manager: Rhino Programme

Originally from the UK, Dr Shaw has been based in South Africa since 2001 and has over fifteen years’ experience in African rhino conservation, including both field-based ecological research and rhino translocation projects throughout East and Southern Africa as well as an understanding of community-based natural resource management and illegal wildlife trade issues.  Dr Shaw obtained her PhD in Animal Ecology from the University of the Witwatersrand and MSc in Conservation Biology from the University of Cape Town and designed her academic research to address key biological management and monitoring issues impacting black rhino conservation.

In 2012, whilst with TRAFFIC East / Southern Africa, she co-authored “The South Africa – Viet Nam Rhino Horn Trade Nexus: A deadly combination of institutional lapses, corrupt wildlife industry professionals and Asian crime syndicates” which provided insights into both the supply and demand side of illegal rhino horn trade.  Since September 2012, she has been Manager of the Rhino Programme at WWF-SA implementing a five-point strategic framework for supporting rhino conservation, from expanding range to grow rhino populations to creating benefits to communities to addressing the illegal trade in rhino horn.  She is a member of the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group, the SADC Rhino Management Group and the CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group.

Riaan de Jager

Organisation/Department: Economic development Environment and Tourism (Limpopo)

Position/Title: Manager

Academic qualifications:

• National Diploma Nature Conservation.
• SAPS - Detective (Course)
• SAPS - Endangered Species Protection course
• Environmental Management Inspectors course (EMI)

Key positions, since 1991 worked for provincial Nature conservation Authorities as environmental law enforcement officer. 2005 appointed as Manager (Deputy Director) environmental compliance and Enforcement (Biodiversity) Limpopo province.

Relevant experience 23 years Law Enforcement experience in environmental law enforcement   and case investigation.

Professor John Donaldson

Organisation/Department: South African National Biodiversity Institute

Position/Title: Chief Director: Biodiversity Research and Assessment

Professor John Donaldson has a PhD in Zoology from University of Cape Town and MSc, BSc Hons and BSc degrees in entomology and zoology from Rhodes University. In addition to his role as head of research and assessment at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, he is the Harold Pearson Professor of Botany at University of Cape Town and is chair the Scientific Authority of South Africa. At international level he has chaired Committee 1 of the CITES Conference of the Parties (2010) and represented Africa on the CITES Plants Committee for 8 years. He is currently chair of the Plant Conservation Committee of the IUCN Species Survival Commission as well as the IUCN/SSC Cycad Specialist Group.

He has a strong background in conservation biology, with over 90 publications, and has undertaken research and consultancies on sustainable use of species and ecosystems.

J.J. Eksteen

Organisation/Department: Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) Biodiversity Conservation

Position/Title: Manager Scientific Services

I obtained the following qualifications:

• BSC Agriculture Animal Production
• BSc Agriculture (Hons) in Animal Nutrition
• BSc (Hons) Wildlife Management
• MSc in Quantitative Conservation Biology

My career in conservation includes:

• Reserve management between 1986-1987, in an area with rhino;
• Regional Ecologist responsibilities that included:
  
  • Wildlife management and Reserve management recommendations to managers of provincial nature reserves, private nature reserves and private farms. Several of these areas had rhino populations that were managed according to the Rhino Management Group.
  • Scientific advice wrt permit applications, and some support to law enforcement.    
• Responsibilities as the Manager Ecological Services  (2001-2010) included the coordination of advice by regional ecologists wrt:
  
  • Wildlife management and Reserve management recommendations.
  • Scientific advice wrt permit applications, including CITES permits
• Representation of the Mpumalanga Province included the:
  
  • Rhino Management Group (RMG) for more than 12 years.
  • Scientific Authority for the last 6 years. 

Dr Michael H Knight

Organisation/Department:  South African National Parks (Conservation Services), IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group (AfRSG), SADC Rhino Management Group (RMG)

Position /Title:  GM: Park Planning & Development, Chairman (IUCN AfRSG & SADC RMG)

Trained as a wildlife ecologist, I have spent most of my career within South African National Parks. From a scientific officer to head of Research for our Inland Parks, to my current position as General Manager for Park Planning & Development, has exposed me to a huge diversity of conservation issues in many protected areas in South Africa and Africa.

I have been involved in rhino conservation for the last 21 years. This has involved conservation management and research associated with both black and white rhinos throughout Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and Chad). Having been directly involved in the SADC RMG and the IUCN SSC AfRSG since 1994, and now as Chairman of both these institutions, I am well versed in international rhino conservation issues. I have also published extensively on wildlife and rhino issues

Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes

Organisation/Department: Independent

Position/Title: Conservation economist

Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes has a B.Com (Hons) in Business Economics (Wits), an MSc in Environmental Resource Economics (University College London) and an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management (Oxford) and is preparing to commence PhD research on the economics of rhino and elephant conservation.  He has been professionally involved in South African conservation issues for more than three decades, and his experience ranges from financial and ecological management of private wildlife reserves to academic research, consulting and teaching.

He has conducted postgraduate and consultancy research on the economics of rhino conservation and trade and has published widely on this and related subjects. His expertise also includes conservation and trade in elephants, big cats and bears, the impact of Asian ornamental and medicinal markets on endangered species, the nature and dynamics of illegal markets and the impact of trade regulation on wildlife conservation. 

Ms Mandisa Motha-Ngumla

Organisation: SARS

Position/Title: Senior Manager: Risk and intelligence

Ms Mandisa Motha-Ngumla is employed as a Senior Manager: Risk and intelligence SARS, Gauteng South Africa. Currently seconded to the ministry of Home Affairs to assist with the formation of the Border Management agency.

 For the past seven she has been responsible for the establishment and the roll out of the national integrated border management strategy for the country’s land, sea and air ports of entry. Her responsibilities involve the management of the National Border Management coordination centre which is a national shared asset whose purpose is to promote coordination through information exchange and cooperation within departments. This is done through monitoring of the situation on all of the Republic’s borders and facilitation of rapid information exchange between the various border management agencies and overall coordination of joint activities and operations at local, provincial and national levels.

Yolan Friedmann

Organisation: Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT)

Position/Title: CEO

Yolan Friedmann is currently the CEO of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), one of the largest conservation NGOs in southern Africa. Yolan has a background in Veterinary Nursing (Onderstepoort Veterinary Faculty, University of Pretoria), a BA in English and Communications (UNISA), an MSc in Environmental Studies (WITS) and an MDP (Programme for Management Development) from the Gordon Institute for Business Science (University of Pretoria).

Yolan is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society and is a Certified Director by the Institute of Directors SA. Yolan was the first female recipient of the SAB Nick Steele Environmentalist of the Year award which she won in 2011. She was also the winner of the CEO Most Influential Woman in Business and Environment award in 2012 in the Environmental category, as well as the recipient of the 2012 Green Globe award. 

Elias Mawela

Organisation: South African Police Services

Position/Title: Lieutenant General, Divisional Commissioner

Academic qualification:

• Bachelor of Administration
• National Diploma Police Administration

Lourence Benard Mogakane

Organisation: People and Parks National Community Representatives forum

Position: National Chairperson

Academic qualifications:

• Matriculation Exemption: 1979
• Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators
• Post-Graduate Diploma in business Administration (PDBA): University of Wales (2003)

Relevant Experience:

• Participated in workshops on Conservation of Nature at community level (Provincial and National)
• Participated in the formation of community structures on claimed land within PA's preservation of endangered species, especially Rhino poaching
• Attended World Parks Congress, Sydney, Australia

Dr. L Pienaar

Organisation / Department: State Security Agency

Position/ Title: 

Dr Wendy Annecke

Organisation / Department:  SANParks

Position /Title: General Manager: Cape Research Centre

Dr Wendy Annecke has been working with poor people in urban and rural areas since 1985. Initially concerned with people threatened by forced removal and by their lack of access to water, energy and income, her research developed a focus on universal access to modern energy with a particular interest in mechanisms to include women.

Dr Annecke led the Energy, Poverty and Development programme at the Energy and Development Research Centre at the University of Cape Town before broadening her interests to include climate change. She has worked extensively in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

She joined SANParks in 2011. Wendy brings her experience of inclusivity (in particular access for the poor to benefits from and control over resources), qualitative research methods and studies of behavior change to bear on the human dimensions of the rhino poaching challenge.  

Hosi M Ntsanwisi

Organisation / Department: House of Traditional leaders

Position/ Title: Senior Traditional Leader from Limpopo and Social Researcher

• B. Proc - University of the North 

• A member of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders, representing the province in the House of Traditional Leaders
• Past Chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders.
• Currently chairing the Limpopo Rural Upliftment Trust 

Adv: J de Lange

Organisation/Department:  

Position/ Title: Legal advisor