Keynote Address by Dr Dion George, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, World Ranger Day, Table Mountain National Park
It is an honour to stand here at the foot of Table Mountain to mark World Ranger Day. Today, we gather not just to celebrate our rangers, but to reflect on what their work demands, what it protects, and what it deserves in return.
We are here because rangers protect the most sacred of treasures: the natural heritage of our country and the living ecosystems upon which our future depends.
Rangers do not just have a job. They have a calling. They stand on the frontline of climate resilience, economic survival, and environmental security.
But this calling comes at a price.
South Africa is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth. From fynbos to forests, from coastlines to highlands, we are custodians of life that cannot be replaced. Yet the very people safeguarding these treasures are often outnumbered, outgunned, and overlooked.
Let me say this clearly: our rangers are fighting a war.
They are not just patrolling trails or maintaining boundaries. They are confronting criminal syndicates that smuggle our abalone, traffic our fauna, strip our flora, and steal from future generations.
Some of our rangers cannot go home because poachers know where their families live. Others face threats both verbal and physical, bribes disguised as favours, or retaliation from crime networks when they do their jobs too well.
This is not a patrol. It is a battlefield. And we must treat it as such. The mental strength, discipline, and moral courage it takes to stand between nature and its destroyers is something we must never take for granted.
We often speak of rangers as guardians of nature — and they are. But we must also remember they carry trauma, sacrifice safety and comfort, and deserve every tool, every protection, and every policy in their favour.
Today, I want to be honest about what we have done — and where we must do better.
Let me start with safety on Table Mountain. In recent months, hikers and residents have raised real concerns about crime in Table Mountain National Park. Reports of attacks, theft, and intimidation have surfaced in what should be a safe and welcoming public space.
Let me be clear. Public safety matters. The safety of visitors, communities, and rangers within this park is not negotiable. We cannot ignore these concerns or pretend the problem lies elsewhere. As Minister, I will ensure SANParks acts with urgency.
We must also recognise the broader context. Table Mountain National Park is not fenced. It is an open- access space, part of a city with deep social and economic divides. The safety issues here reflect the wider crime problems in Cape Town and across South Africa.
Robberies peaked at 133 cases in 2023 but fell to 57 in 2024 and 47 in early 2025. Theft followed similar patterns, with spikes in late 2023 and early 2025. These facts show that, while the risk is real, efforts to manage crime in the park are progressing.
I have met with enforcement partners. I have asked tough questions and instructed SANParks to intensify safety efforts in the park. This includes visible patrols, increased presence, and meaningful community engagement.
SANParks has increased its conservation staff by 43% over two years, raising the number of rangers in the park to 111. The Sea, Air and Mountain Special Operations Ranger Unit has grown from 18 to 40 rangers since 2021.
In the last year, this unit carried out 670 strategic patrols on land, 58 joint patrols with the city, police and community groups, and 71 rapid responses to safety incidents. They conducted 105 marine patrols. These efforts led to 5 arrests on land and 7 at sea, including a December 2023 arrest of a suspect linked to a dozen armed robberies in the park. But enforcement alone is not enough.
We need cooperation across all levels of government, support from communities, intelligence-led policing, and unified drive to reclaim public spaces. This park, and every SANPark, belongs to all South Africans. It must feel that way.
Now, let me turn to the theft of our natural resources. Illegal abalone harvesting is a multimillion-rand criminal business. Syndicates are stripping our coasts, laundering their catch through global networks, and destroying biodiversity and jobs.
Just this week, I joined our marine enforcement unit on patrol near Robben Island. We intercepted a poaching vessel, its crew fleeing into dangerous waters, abandoning their boat in haste.
The vessel was seized. But that one victory barely dents the scale of the war. Abalone is being stolen.
SANParks is stepping up to meet this threat. Ranger deployment plans have been revised. Safety protocols have been tightened. Strategic partnerships are being strengthened.
But we must also confront the scale and sophistication of the environmental crimes we face. Abalone poaching, like Rhino poaching, Pangolin poaching and Lion poaching, is driven by global syndicates who move product and money across borders with speed.
Succulent plant theft, once seen as niche, is now big business, with some rare species fetching exorbitant prices on illicit markets. These are not isolated offences; they are organised, deliberate attacks on our ecological wealth. And they demand a full-scale, coordinated response.
We must bolster enforcement with drones, canine units, digital mapping, forensic labs, and strong legal support. Environmental crime is a serious economic and national security issue. We must treat it as one.
Across the country, the situation is grim.
Between January and June 2025, there were 14 lion poaching incidents involving snaring and poisoning. Pangolins have been seized in several provinces, alive and as skins. Vulture poisoning killed hundreds in Kruger National Park, sometimes alongside crocodiles. Elephant tusks and rhino horns continue to be stolen. So far this year, 40 suspects have been arrested for crimes against priority species, with many cases registered and evidence seized.
Our rangers give their all. But they need our support. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of joining a ranger training course at the Southern African Wildlife College, in the Kruger National Park.
It was not symbolic — it was two weeks of physical, tactical, and emotional immersion. I learned how to track, navigate, and defend in the bush. I witnessed first-hand the discipline and endurance required to be a ranger in South Africa today. I trained alongside men and women who live for weeks away from their families, who move quietly through dangerous terrain, who carry not only rifles but responsibility for our future. I gained a profound respect not just for what rangers do, but for who they are. This experience changed me — and it reinforced, with absolute clarity, that these professionals deserve more than medals. They deserve a system that backs them.
I would also like to acknowledge today’s screening of Poacher’s Moon. The full moon makes rhinos easy targets. Rangers call it the "poacher’s moon", and for good reason. By telling this deeply South African story on a global stage, the film exposes a crisis that is often hidden in shadow. It does what we must do more of: bring the ranger’s experience to the centre, honour their courage, and call for urgent, collective action to protect them, and what they protect.
And it requires love — for the land, the animals, and the people who will inherit what we protect. But love alone is not enough.
We must back our rangers with budgets, policies, and programmes that reflect the realities they face.
I am committed to ensuring that rangers receive the respect, protection, and resources they deserve. It is a clear order to my Department and a promise to every ranger listening today.
We will do more.
We will stand stronger.
We will back you.
We will build a system where no ranger stands alone. We see you. We honour you. We must do better by you. Rangers are not a footnote. You are the frontline.
You are not alone.
We see your sacrifice. We mourn your loss. We owe you more than words. We owe you action.
I stand with you. My Department stands with you, this City stands with you, and South Africa stands with you.
Let us move forward with pride. Let us move forward with resolve.
What we all need is the endurance of a Ranger. Thank you.
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