International Anti-Poaching Foundation

The International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF) is an Australian-registered nonprofit conservation organisation whose work has predominantly taken place in Africa. It was founded in 2009 by Damien Mander after his experience in Africa led him to reassess how wildlife protection and frontline ranger work were being conducted. Mander drew on his naval background and initially established the organisation around a structured, military-influenced approach to conservation. The early model applied operational methods and technologies associated with battlefield environments to anti-poaching work, including surveillance, patrol planning, tactical training, arrest procedures, crime-scene preservation, camouflage and concealment, and the use of unmanned drones. The organisation’s early activities included protection of black rhinoceros conservation efforts in Zimbabwe and work connected with the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique. Its operations received international television exposure through three instalments of the programme 60 Minutes: a 2010 report filmed around Victoria Falls focused on black-rhinoceros conservation; a 2012 report covered the use of drones in Mozambique; and a 2018 report examined the organisation’s women-led Akashinga programme in Zimbabwe. IAPF also provided free ranger training in Zimbabwe and participated in the development of South Africa’s anti-poaching ranger qualification standard. A major strategic change occurred in 2015, when IAPF began moving away from a predominantly military-style model toward a community-oriented approach. The organisation increasingly treated local participation, livelihoods and social inclusion as central elements of conservation rather than as secondary concerns. Its most prominent expression of this shift was Akashinga, a women-led ranger initiative established in Zimbabwe’s Lower Zambezi Valley and associated with the Phundundu area. Recruitment particularly sought women facing severe social and economic vulnerability, including survivors of sexual or domestic violence, single mothers, abandoned wives and AIDS orphans. By creating paid conservation roles and structured training, the programme linked wildlife protection with women’s empowerment and community development. Akashinga’s rangers were trained in field patrol, arrest, ambush awareness, conservation law enforcement and evidence handling. The organisation has also worked with former convicted poachers, in some cases rehabilitating them and employing them in ranger roles. In South Africa, IAPF helped develop professional standards for anti-poaching rangers. The organisation reported that its female unit made approximately 70 arrests during its first year, although the supplied reference does not provide a broader, independently verified performance dataset. IAPF’s conservation activities have included anti-poaching protection for a black-rhinoceros breeding programme at the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve. The reference material states that no rhinos were killed there during the period of IAPF operations, but does not specify the precise dates or provide an independently documented comparison. The organisation’s public identity has increasingly become associated with Akashinga, and the supplied Wikipedia reference describes Akashinga as the successor or new name of the former IAPF. The organisation has also received public recognition, including three nominations connected with the Humane Society of the United States’ 28th annual Genesis Awards. Jane Goodall served as a patron. Overall, the organisation’s defining positioning is the combination of wildlife crime prevention, professional ranger training, community participation and the advancement of women in conservation.

The International Anti-Poaching Foundation was established in 2009 by Damien Mander, who had a naval background and became involved in African conservation after seeing the risks faced by wildlife and the rangers assigned to protect it. The organisation initially borrowed heavily from military thinking. Its field teams used structured patrols, tactical planning, surveillance technology and law-enforcement procedures adapted from military training, while applying them to wildlife crime prevention rather than armed conflict. During its first phase, IAPF worked in southern and eastern Africa. Its activities included anti-poaching protection connected with black-rhinoceros breeding at the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve, ranger training in Zimbabwe and operations in Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve. Training covered patrolling, ambush response, arrest procedures, preservation of crime scenes, camouflage and concealment. The organisation also used unmanned drones in its Mozambique work. Some former poachers were rehabilitated and subsequently employed as rangers, reflecting an effort to combine enforcement with reintegration. Public attention grew through television coverage. In 2010, 60 Minutes filmed IAPF work around Victoria Falls, concentrating on black-rhinoceros conservation. In 2012, the programme returned to cover the organisation’s deployment of unmanned drones in Niassa. IAPF also received recognition through three nominations associated with the Humane Society of the United States’ 28th annual Genesis Awards. Jane Goodall served as a patron. The organisation’s most important institutional change came in 2015. Rather than relying mainly on military-style tactics, IAPF began pursuing a community-oriented model that sought to give local people a direct stake in conservation. This approach led to the establishment of Akashinga in Zimbabwe’s Lower Zambezi Valley and the Phundundu area. The initiative recruited and trained women, with particular attention to applicants who had experienced sexual violence or domestic abuse, were single mothers or abandoned wives, or were AIDS orphans. The programme presented conservation employment as both a wildlife-protection mechanism and a route to economic and social empowerment. Akashinga’s women rangers undertook operational training and carried out anti-poaching duties. The reference material reports approximately 70 arrests during the unit’s first year. IAPF also established women’s training programmes in South Africa and helped co-develop a national anti-poaching ranger qualification standard there. By 2018, Akashinga had become the organisation’s best-known programme, receiving a third 60 Minutes feature. The supplied Wikipedia material describes Akashinga as the successor or new identity of the former IAPF, indicating a gradual shift in public brand emphasis from the original foundation name toward the women-led conservation model.

• 2018

  Akashinga receives international television coverage

  [1]International Anti-Poaching Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  A third 60 Minutes report covered the women-led Akashinga programme in Zimbabwe.

• 2015

  Strategic transition to community-oriented conservation

  [1]International Anti-Poaching Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  IAPF began shifting from a military-influenced model toward community participation and locally grounded conservation.

• 2012

  Drone-supported conservation work documented

  [1]International Anti-Poaching Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  A 60 Minutes report covered IAPF’s use of unmanned drones in Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve.

• 2010

  First 60 Minutes feature

  [1]International Anti-Poaching Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The programme filmed IAPF operations around Victoria Falls, with a focus on black-rhinoceros conservation.

• 2009

  Foundation established

  [1]International Anti-Poaching Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Damien Mander founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation after becoming involved in African wildlife conservation.

A conservation and ranger-development organisation that combines wildlife protection with community-based approaches, local employment and women’s empowerment. Its historical identity was strongly associated with military-derived anti-poaching tactics, while its later positioning emphasizes inclusive, locally rooted conservation.

• Women-led conservation programme · 2015

  Akashinga

  Akashinga is IAPF’s best-known community-oriented conservation programme. Established in Zimbabwe’s Lower Zambezi Valley and associated with the Phundundu area, it recruits and trains local women as anti-poaching rangers. Recruitment focused particularly on women facing social and economic vulnerability, including survivors of sexual or domestic violence, single mothers, abandoned wives and AIDS orphans. The programme connects ranger employment, wildlife protection and women’s empowerment.

• Wildlife protection

  Black-rhinoceros protection operations

  IAPF has operated an anti-poaching unit protecting a black-rhinoceros breeding programme at the Stanley & Livingstone Private Game Reserve. Its work includes ranger deployment, patrols and wildlife-crime prevention. The supplied reference states that no rhinos were killed during the period of IAPF operations, but does not provide exact dates or an independent evaluation.

• Professional training

  Ranger training

  The organisation provides or has provided free ranger training in Zimbabwe. Instruction includes patrolling, ambush awareness, arrests, crime-scene preservation, camouflage and concealment. The methods were initially adapted from military courses and then adjusted for conservation and law-enforcement settings.

• Professional standard

  Anti-poaching ranger qualification standard

  In South Africa, IAPF co-developed a national qualification standard for anti-poaching rangers. The initiative reflects the organisation’s role in professionalising conservation enforcement beyond individual field deployments.

• 2018Akashinga international media campaign

  International

  A 60 Minutes report brought international attention to Akashinga and its women-led conservation operations in Zimbabwe.

  Outcome. The report increased public visibility for the programme; no quantified fundraising or membership outcome is provided.

  Source
• 2015Akashinga

  Zimbabwe

  IAPF established a women-led ranger and conservation programme in the Lower Zambezi Valley and Phundundu area, combining anti-poaching work with local employment and women’s empowerment.

  Outcome. The programme became the organisation’s central public identity and was later featured by 60 Minutes. The reference reports approximately 70 arrests by the female unit during its first year.

  Source

• 2015

  Shift from military-style enforcement to community conservationStrategy

  Background

  IAPF’s initial operating model relied on military-derived methods and technologies, but the organisation increasingly sought to make local communities participants in conservation.

  Action taken

  The organisation expanded community-oriented programmes and created women-led ranger initiatives, beginning with Akashinga in Zimbabwe.

  Aftermath

  Akashinga became the organisation’s most visible programme and was later described as the successor or new identity of the former IAPF.

  Source

1. 1International Anti-Poaching Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2International Anti-Poaching Foundation official websiteiapf.org