Raoul du Toit

Raoul du Toit is a Zimbabwean. He commenced his professional career in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), having undertaken post-graduate training at the University of Cape Town. He has been particularly involved in EIA’s of large hydroelectric schemes on the Zambezi and Cunene Rivers. He diverted into rhino conservation work through his appointment in 1985 to the IUCN African Elephant and Rhino Specialist Group, as Scientific Officer. For three years, he coordinated the conservation efforts of this group within Africa. In 1988, Mr. du Toit developed a WWF project to survey the status of black rhinos in the Zambezi Valley and since then has worked as a Project Executant with WWF.

In 1990, he was seconded to the Zimbabwean Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, where he worked for seven years to initiate and implement the Rhino Conservancy Project in Zimbabwe. This entailed establishing viable rhino breeding groups in semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe, amalgamating game ranches into large conservancies to provide adequate habitat, setting up protection and monitoring systems, and helping to deal with the ongoing economic and political challenges to these private sector projects. He also helped to establish the regional rhino conservation programme of the Southern African Development Community and is involved in this programme as a technical adviser on rhino projects in several countries.