Teacher_Book - General - Draft 23 - 2015

GOVERNMENT
Questions
1. What does the abbreviation C.I.T.E.S. stand for?
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (of Wild Fauna and Flora)
2. What is the Zimbabwean governments stance on the rhino horn trade ban?
Zimbawe’s stance on wildlife trade (especially the rhino horn) is mixed. On the surface, Zimbawe’s government supports the
CITES ban & has national laws to protect wildlife from poachers. Yet, it will counter their own laws by killing the wildlife
for celebrations & blocks CITES sanctions. Zimbawe wants the ban lifted with Asia. In addition, despite Mugabe evicting
white land holders, Zimbabwe permits USA hunters (for a fee) to kill the wildlife in various parts of Zimbabwe.
3. Describe how governments have affected game rangers and the anti-poaching industry.
Zimbawe’s government negative actions towards wildlife and the white community has resulted in the national parks
department being under-funded with wildlife enforcement budgets cut from US$24 per square meter to US$2.63 per square
meter (1988 - 1993) for the task of patroling extensive areas of game parks from This has caused the anti-poaching industry
to become highly fragmented and isolated, game rangers suffer from low morale, low wages (less than $150 per month), no
equipment or operational support. Game rangers have become distrusting and non-effective.
4. Describe the IAPF approach to the anti-poaching industry.
The IAPFs approach to the anti-poaching indsutry has been immediate and direct response to stop the haemorage of
damage. The IAPF are on the frontlines with the game rangers and addresses the global community with boards in South
Africa, Australia, USA and soon to be the UK.
The IAPF began in 2009 with a training academy in Zimbabwe. It had game rangers from a variety of national parks in
Africa train for 3-4 months on the ground with IAPF CEO Damien Mander for free on location, free medical help and
accommodation. The rangers were taught a series of skills: ambush tactics, search and arrest, navigation, are and grid
referencing, operational security, tracking formations and tracking. The training concluded with days of mock-poaching
simulations and scenarios with the rangers out in field to successfully catch our ‘poachers’.
During that time, the IAPF began the work of gaining the first ever anti-poaching qualification in Africa, however ongoing
red-tape has slowed the progress and resulted in one level of the qualification being created: Train the Trainer.
In more recent times, the IAPF has been confined to training trainers only (not permitted to train any game rangers directly
due to government red-tape and corruption to slow the inroads being made), equiping the game parks with specialised
patrol and tracking equipment kits, medical kits and is working towards the drone (RPAS) technology fleet. The IAPF liases
with a variety of NGOs domestically and internationally such as the Thin Green Line, Save the Rhino, Jane Goodalls Institute,
National Geographic, The Australian Rhino Project, and Conservation Guardians to name a few to equip the reserves with
the necessary kits and training. In addition, the IAPF have numerous projects of anti-poaching underway including: the
Greater Lebombo corridor (Mozambique side of Kruger National Park), Bumi Hills (Zimbabwe) and Niassa (Mozambique) the
current hot spots for poaching of rhino and elephant. With more funding, the IAPF will secure the first ever antipoaching
training academy online (called Command and Control) for any game park or game ranger to access for their
ongoing education and cutting edge tactics to counter well armed highly organised criminal foreign syndicates and rebels
using poaching as a means to fund terrorist activities. The online academy will be able to counter corrupt governments.
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