Deputy Minister B Swarts on the occasion of the World Ranger Day celebration held at the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga

31 July 2024

Chairperson of the SANParks Board, Ms Pam Yako,
CEO of SANParks, Ms Hapiloe Sello,
Our SANParks Rangers Corp,
Our partners in the SAPS, SANDF, communities and business,
The dedicated staff of SANParks
Colleagues and friends, 
Members of the media, 
Distinguish guests

Good morning

Colleagues, World Ranger Day, is celebrated yearly on 31 July – it is a day dedicated to our men and women who daily devote their lives and time to protect our inheritance and heritage for present and future generations.

On World Ranger Day we have an opportunity to reflect on the exceptional work carried out by rangers – a community of women and men that continuously put their lives at risk and remain at the forefront of conservation. We also get to give recognition and our full respect to those rangers that lost their lives in the preceding year and acknowledge the many growing challenges and threats to rangers globally.

This group of fellow citizens are the hope for the present and future of our planet –mother earth. These are beacons of environmental stewardship, inspiring the world with innovative conservation practices.

The international 2024 World Ranger Day theme is "30 by 30", which aims to draw attention to the direct and tangible actions that rangers take every day to reach our global 30 by 30 targets, as set out by the Convention on Biological Diversity at the 2022 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), where a Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed upon by world leaders and decision-makers.

Consistent with this international theme, at SANParks we observe the day under the theme "Rangers Are Custodians of Our Heritage".

South African National Parks' led Vision 2040 is in fact appropriately acknowledging a path towards a future of conservation which aptly talks to what the international and SANParks theme appropriately highlights in this year's themes. Vision 2040 - a blueprint for maintaining biodiversity or establishing sustainable ecosystems, is about cultivating a collective sense of community, healing, and inspiration that resonates with all South Africans. This lofty aspiration is one that our rangers are well-positioned and will be critical to champion given their unique ability to connect and inspire.

I want to affirm here today that all of you are positioned to play pivotal roles in achieving the project's aims of establishing healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient sanctuaries. The role that you are already engaged with in various capacities, from community interaction and education to leadership and decision-making is well poised to lead the charge towards Vision 2040.  Your distinct perspectives, experiences, and insights are imperative for fostering a sense of connection and healing among South Africans as a whole.

Vision 2040 offers a perfect opportunity to influence SANParks' future and safeguard the country's natural and cultural heritage for future generations as we near our centenary in 2026. Numerous threatened wildlife populations have recovered as a result of SANParks' commitment to conservation made possible by both our scientists and rangers. These initiatives have enabled species that were in danger of going extinct to make amazing recoveries. For example there was only 17 bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus) left by the 1930s but through conservation efforts, their population reached over 3,000 by 2018.

Today, the species flourishes in protected habitats, a remarkable success tale that highlights SANParks' dedication to protecting threatened and extinct species. Additionally, some of SANParks' protected areas have been named UNESCO World Heritage Sites, highlighting their importance on a global scale and the necessity for their protection.

These are essentially success stories of our able rangers and scientists which we seek to carry forward into the future through Vision 2040.

The issue of wildlife remains one of our Achilles heels in 2024. Most inspiring has been the determined push back made through our rangers in partnership with colleagues in the security cluster, communities and the use of technology. Aligned to this determination to win is the building of a strong Ranger Corp characterized by women and men with high levels of integrity and commitment to the course of safeguarding our natural and cultural heritage.

In fact, the unequivocal story of today is that POACHERS PASOP! At the heart of a recent judgement of a poacher pinched with a sentence of 50 years imprisonment is the markings of a partnership with our rangers at the core. We continue to see hefty jail sentences handed down in rhino poaching court cases here in the Skukuza Court because of the work of rangers.

Colleagues, words are not enough to thank you, save to say that for many of us, to be a ranger is tantamount to being a special breed of citizens. You are dynamic and you set the agenda for conservation. It is you who brings to life the legislative expression which requires SANParks to manage and protect our national parks.

As I conclude I think it will be amiss of me not to thank the Honorary Rangers for their general support in fund raising efforts for many SANParks projects including Ranger Support over many decades. This includes specifically rallying behind us so strongly in the fight against rhino poaching.

The South African Police Services is also a critical pillar in our fight against wrongdoers. Same goes for the National Prosecuting Authority who have assisted in putting many of these criminals as far as possible from our natural resources. Our colleagues, in the South African Defence Force who work along the border line, you too are highly appreciated.

We move together for the better and success of our conservation story. In our coastal parks we also work with the likes of the National Sea Rescue Institute who have a permanent base in Tsitsikamma even though their operations stretches as far as the Addo Elephant National Park – this is really a great partnership that guarantees successful sea rescue operations - thank you ever so much for all your efforts that have not gone unnoticed.

Ningadinwa nangomso.

Happy World Ranger Day!

THANK YOU!

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