ECO WARRIORS: SA’s next generation of conservationists need laptops to turn qualifications into careers

Twenty young environmentalists in South Africa are close to completing their conservation qualifications and entering the green job market, but they face a significant barrier: a lack of laptops to turn their degrees into careers. The 20 graduates are part of a 12-month placement programme run by Cape Town-based NGO Nature Connect, which connects people with nature, trains young people for green jobs, and supports community-led conservation projects.

Each intern holds a conservation qualification and will gain necessary practical experience through mentorship and on-the-ground experience. However, they currently lack the tools needed to perform their work, which includes computer-based research, logging, and developing a portfolio of evidence. Nature Connect is appealing to individuals, businesses, and institutions across South Africa to donate used laptops – preferably less than three years old – for the interns.

South Africa, one of only 17 megadiverse countries, is home to a rich array of plant and marine species. However, the country's biodiversity is deteriorating, with 986 ecosystem types assessed as being under threat by the South African National Biodiversity Institute's latest biodiversity assessment. Freshwater and cartilaginous species are the most fragile, while estuaries, rivers, and wetlands are the most threatened and least protected – a critical concern for a water-scarce nation.

Nature Connect's CEO, Dr Anthony Roberts, emphasized the need for more trained conservationists to protect the country's biodiversity. The organisation's internship programme, made possible through a decade-long partnership with CATHSSETA, has placed 198 graduate interns since 2016. However, CATHSSETA funding primarily covers stipends, which graduates use for transport. Roberts noted that buying laptops for the interns would divert funds from the NGO's other projects.