Mr Thapelo Brilliant Lebopa

AWEI Programme Assistant

Bio

Mr Thapelo Brilliant Lebopa is a dedicated and result-driven professional with a strong focus on research, project coordination and development planning. He holds Master’s Degree in Development Planning and Management from the University of Limpopo, where he specialized in local economic development; environmental planning and management; project techniques, planning and management and rural development. With a proven track record in promoting bottom-up approaches to sustainable development. Thapelo has extensive experience in livelihood strategies, policy planning and implementation. His research project was titled "The Impact of Local Economic Development towards Livelihood Strategies in Communities of Botlokwa Village, Limpopo." This project, working at the Molemole Local Municipality and other organisations, and now at AWEI has built his expertise in the formulation and execution of policies and legislative frameworks, such as Integrated Development Plan (IDPs), local economic development planning, agriculture and land use schemes. Thapelo is passionate about driving sustainable development initiatives that align with community needs and global environmental goals. 

@AWEI 

Thapelo Joined AWEI in August 2023 as a Programme Assistant. He has been instrumental in assisting the management and implementation of the AWEI projects, fundraising and administrative support. His responsibilities include coordinating project activities, ensuring effective operational activities and communication, monitoring and supporting the institute’s strategic goals. Mr. Thapelo’s contributions have been vital in advancing AWEI’s mission to promote sustainable wildlife economies and foster socio-economic development through innovative and inclusive approaches. This has included substantive inputs into developing a capacity building strategy and induction for the South Africa’s Scientific Authority responsible to assessing the impacts on international trade on endangered species. 

Selected Outputs: 

• Collaborative governance models of wild product value chains for conservation and livelihoods resilience
• 2023-2024 – Developing AWEI-SANBI CITES Induction Course for Scientific Authority and Capacity Development Strategy
• ZELA Research Consultative on Harnessing agriculture and tourism as cornerstones for the Just transition to a low carbon economy (Policy Research).
• Ndlovu W. & Lebopa T.B. (2024). Value Creation Networks: The Future for Game Meat Industry. Journal of International Development. (Under Review).
• Mpofu A., Lebopa T.B., & Ndlovu W. (2024-2025). Informal Harvesting Wildlife-Based Enterprises in the SADC Region: Economic Contributions and SWOT Analysis (Ongoing)