African Wildlife & Environment Issue 79

WESSA LEADERSHIP

MPENDULO (M.P. ) DLAMINI, the new kid on the block He is also a member of the Environmental Assessment Practitioners of South Africa as a Registered Environmental Assessment Practitioner as per Section 24H of the National Environmental Management Act. He is currently employed by the Western Cape Provincial Government as a Specialised Environmental Officer in Air Quality Management, within the Air Quality Management Directorate of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning. Mpendulo is also a lively environmental communicator. While he was still based in KwaZulu-Natal, he featured on an occasional basis as an Environmental Educator in KZN’s Regional Radio Station, iGagasi FM (G 99.5) in its prime-time current affairs talk show, Indaba with Alex Mthiyane (6pm to 8pm). Recently he’s been networking in the climate change space, linking up with movements that advocate for the protection of the planet for generations to come. In May 2021, he presented at the Climate Actions Summit 2.0 organised by the Climate Actions Now organisation in Kalk Bay. His presentation was on the 'The Importance of Community and/or Public Participation in Tackling Climate Change'. Mpendulo is multi-disciplined, as he holds a double major Environmental Science degree (Environmental Science and Biological Science) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He also holds an Honours Degree in Environmental Science, which included a research project focusing on air quality, waste management and public health. In the project, Mpendulo assessed the health impacts of a landfill that generates electricity using landfill-generated methane. Currently, Mpendulo is a master’s candidate at the University of Cape Town with a research project assessing the nexus between Climate Change Science, Public Administration, Politics and Economics. In terms of advanced personal career development, Mpendulo has undertaken a series of climate change short courses offered by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).These short courses focus on Climate Change Science, Climate Change Finance

(including Sustainable Financing Instruments) as well as Climate Change Policy (Mitigation, Adaptation, Planning and Impact Management). He also has certificates in Air Dispersion Modelling for Environmental Management, Project Management as well as Legal Environmental Compliance & Auditing. In terms of leadership and management, Mpendulo has undertaken certificate short courses in Strategic Planning and Management, Financial Management and Budgeting, as well as in Leading Change in the Public Sector offered by the National School of Government. Mpendulo is also a Climate Reality Leader trained by the former USA Vice President, Al Gore, under the Climate Reality Project. The Climate Reality Project is focused on climate change education and global advocacy spreading awareness of the climate crisis and working for solutions to the greatest challenge of our time. Mpendulo is an ambitious and a very hard- working individual who started his career in the environmental discipline whilst he was still a second-year student in 2013. Since 2013, Mpendulo has held various positions where he has been exposed to different thematic areas within the environmental discipline. He completed vacation work at SAPREF (Shell and BP Petroleum Refinery) (2013). From 2014 to 2016, Mpendulo Mpendulo Dlamini is the WESSAWestern Cape Regional Representative as well as the Social Media and Youth Coordinator. He is an experienced and competent public sector Professional Environmental Scientist (Pr. Sci Nat.) registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP).

13 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 79 (2021)