After 22 years of hard work, Megan Taplin has become the new park manager of Table Mountain National Park.
Taplin was born and bred in Cape Town and has an undergraduate and Honours equivalent certification from Stellenbosch University, majoring in nature conservation and zoology. She also holds a Master’s degree in environmental science (Wits University).
She has a long history of great experience and good leadership, having worked in the conservation sector for the past 22 years.
Her journey with SANParks started in April of 2003 as a social ecologist focusing on local community liaison and environmental education in Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. In 2006, she was appointed as regional communications manager for the Frontier Region Parks (Addo Elephant, Mountain Zebra, Camdeboo and Karoo national parks) and later as communications and marketing manager for the region.
Her experience in the work environment includes being park manager of Mountain Zebra National Park from 2012 to 2017. In late 2017, she was transferred to the Knysna area of the Garden Route National Park as park manager of the Knysna section, where she remained until her promotion to Table Mountain National Park.
“It is a privilege to be entrusted to lead the team managing this World Heritage Site and new 7th Wonder of the World. It will be important to engage with the many different stakeholders and communities to ensure that we meet their needs while still ensuring we deliver our core mandate of biodiversity conservation,’’ said Taplin.
‘’Without benefits to people and the support of our stakeholders, the park cannot persevere into the future. I know the people of the Cape are passionate about their local park and there are many opportunities that can be realised when we combine our efforts.”
SANParks Cape Region regional general manager Johan Taljaard is confident in Taplin’s new position and wished her well on her new journey as TMNP’s park manager.