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afrol.com, 12 September - The Third World Congress of the International Ranger Federation was opened yesterday morning by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Valli Moosa. He highlighted recent achievements in increasing the amount of land under National Parks in South Africa and discussed the great potential which exists in the development on Trans Frontier or Peace Parks in southern African countries such as Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and SA. Gordon Miller, president of the IRF welcomed the delegates to the Congress and asked for a minute of silence for those game rangers who had died in the course of duty over the last year. He then handed the congress over to Mr David Mabunda, Director KNP who welcomed the delegates to the congress and the Kruger National Park. He then introduced Minister Moosa. Following the previous highly successful IRF world congress's in Poland and Costa Rica in 1995 and 1997, 313 rangers from 58 countries (all 7 continents) met to consider 'The Role of the Ranger beyond 2000'. The theme of the Congress will ensure that the Ranger is empowered to meet the challenges presented by the changing face of conservation and of the role players, especially in Africa. The Congress will seek to identify and strengthen the role of the ranger, through three elements : Area Integrity, Community and Ecotourism/Business. The objectives are to identify the skills required by Rangers in the new millennium; to adopt strategies to develop these skills; and to make the expertise of rangers available to decision makers. The meeting will identify how the International Ranger Federation can assist and influence conservation activities internationally in a time of scarce resources and abundant challenges. Congress supporters include Ranger associations around the world, UNESCO World Heritage, IUCN and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. This is an opportunity for Rangers - from backgrounds as diverse as urban greenspace management in inner city areas and game management in the world's remaining wilderness areas - to make a serious contribution to the future of our environment. The International Ranger Federation, established in 1992, is a voluntary organisation with member associations in 28 countries, whose main aim is to improve the professional standards of rangers throughout the world. For many delegates the Congress will provide a first experience of Africa to help them to understand what is happening in Africa and to relate that knowledge to their own practical background, and to achieve a better understanding of the issues and opportunities facing all Rangers and Protected Area Managers in a rapidly changing environment. The proceedings started with three keynote addresses, these were by Dr John Hanks, former Director Peace Parks Foundation, now with
Conservation International Dr Ian Player, South Africa's best known Game Ranger of the Wilderness
Joe Kioko Deputy Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service. Dr Hanks highlighted the threats facing conservation of protected areas in
Africa today and discussed approaches which could be taken to resolve these issues. One in which he believed that the IRF and Game Rangers He talked about the need for Governments to view conservation as a greater priority that they do today and drew an example of the fact that the Defence budget in Zimbabwe is twelve times greater that that of the Ministry of Mining, Tourism and Environment (the ministry under which the department of National Parks and Wildlife falls ). Dr Player gave an inspirational address about the bond between Game Rangers and the land and animals which they conserve. He talked about the bond between game rangers and what he had learned from Maqubu Nthombela , his mentor who although he was illiterate had immense wisdom of the bush, wildlife and wilderness. He talked about the need to foster the spirit of Game Rangers. Mr Joe Kioko spoke about the work of Game Rangers in Africa and gave examples of recent problems experienced in Kenya, in particular the drastic declines in rhino and elephant populations due to poaching. After several presentations on protected area integrity, the delegates broke into working groups as part of the process towards producing
guidelines for further action by the IRF to carry forward resolutions to
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