Thizwilondi Suzan Rambau

Ms. Thizwilondi Suzan Rambau is Director for Land Degradation and Desertification in the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment of South Africa and serves as the UNCCD National Focal Point.

She has extensive experience in sustainable land management and in the development and implementation of policies, legislation, strategies and plans on desertification, land degradation and drought as well as biodiversity conservation. She has been a long-standing negotiator for South Africa and the Africa Region under the UNCCD and its subsidiary bodies and played an important role in the Intergovernmental Working Groups on drought and on the strategic plan of the Convention. She is also a strong advocate for resource mobilization to support projects and programmes on biodiversity conservation, restoration and rehabilitation of degraded landscapes and their sustainable management.

Ms. Rambau has been an invited speaker on DLDD issues at local, regional and international conferences, sharing lessons and experiences from South Africa. She is a mentor to professionals interested in DLDD and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Rhodes University with a focus on drought management in the Southern Africa Development Community, contributing to the growing body of knowledge on DLDD in the region and globally.