R2m grant to up-skill wildlife managers

South Africa’s Peace Parks Foundation has received a R2 million grant from the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa (MCFEA) to be used for the training of 240 wildlife managers.

The students, who will be identified by management at various conservation parks and reserves throughout the Southern Africa, will undergo a 9-12 month natural resource management course at the Southern African Wildlife College in Hoedspruit, Limpopo. The course is aimed at addressing the tourism industry’s need for more highly skilled wildlife managers.

“There is a major need for highly skilled natural resource managers,” says the SAWC’s executive training manager Theresa Sowry.

“While rangers and tour guides may have lots of experience, many lack the theoretical knowledge to become competent managers. And so the course is designed to meet the needs of conservation organisations in up-skilling their future managers,” adds Sowry.

Established in 1997 by Dr Anton Rupert, Nelson Mandela and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the overall objective of Peace Parks Foundation (PPF) is to facilitate the development of Trans-Frontier Conservation Areas. These cross-border ecological regions are aimed at promoting the conservation of biological diversity in the SADC region, the promotion of regional peace and stability and the creation of new jobs associated with the anticipated growth of tourism in Southern Africa.

The Mitsubishi Corporation Fund was established in 1992 to promote environmental conservation, education and research into the environment and poverty alleviation, through funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.K.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi Corporation (UK) Plc.

Other projects being sponsored by the fund include the UK’s BirdlLife International as well as WaterAid which is aimed at improving the water and sanitation infrastructure for poor communities in Mozambique.

Article courtesy of www.sagoodnews.co.za

For more information about the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa, please visit www.mcfea.org