The Ranger Survey in Context

To determine whether the intensive effort and investments required to produce this study would be worthwhile, WWF first conducted an initial limited-scope pilot study of rangers in the Africa and Asia regions. The results of that effort were later published as Ranger Perceptions: Asia and Ranger Perceptions: Africa. Ranger Perceptions: Latin America will also be released shortly, while Ranger Perceptions: Central America was published by a separate coalition of environmental NGOs. These, along with another overview study Ranger Insurance Report, provided ample evidence that the day to day realities of ranger work included deeply concerning elements. In many ways, this was consistent to what those working closely with rangers had been hearing anecdotally for years. From this set of early publications, it became clear that a larger and more rigorous study would be required to make the case for change and to galvanize action.

This report should now be viewed as the primary document of reference on the topic of global ranger conditions. It replaces and improves upon last year’s publication Life on the Frontline 2018: A Global Survey of the Working Conditions of Rangers. The new elements incorporated into this 2019 reportinclude:

Thousands of new survey results from 11 new countries (including for the first time the Latin America region).

A large section on community perceptions of, and experiences with, rangers. This is based on the results of more than 3,000 surveys filled by local community members living in or very near to ranger survey protected areas in Myanmar and the Philippines (see page 89).

Expanded analysis of ranger work in the context of international legal regimes, including those governing labor standards (page 107) and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage (page 111). A comparative study of national laws that regulate ranger work in seven Asian countries is also included (page 121).

An important analysis of what appears to be a considerable wage gap between police officers and patrol rangers in the survey countries (page 109). An in-depth looks at both ranger insurance coverage (page 117) and ranger mortality rates (page 105).

Other new items, such as an expanded analysis of regional variation in the survey findings (page 83), a case study on survey results from the Philippines (page 86) and the results of a stress survey of Pakistani rangers (page 113).

More analysis needed in the coming years:

Although this report is at present the last foreseeable major global WWF publication on the topic, there is still considerable potential for further analysis derived from the extensive volume of data generated during the course of the survey project. WWF encourages relevant subject matter experts (be they organizational-institutional or academic) to analyze relevant survey data along with the core research team before it becomes dated. The need to accomplish more with the considerable quantity ofhealth-related data is particularly obvious.

National level feedback: WWF will present the national-level survey results to governments in all 28 participating countries throughout 2019 and 2020. Although the main purpose of this is to affect policy change and more efficient use of budgets in those countries, an effort will also be made to get permission to publish the national-level data, which can then be used by the wider conservation and development communities.

This survey should be repeated at regular

intervals: It is suggested here that the main survey of ranger working conditions be repeated at five-year intervals, although likely at a reduced scale. This will allow for the tracking of positive and negative trends impacting the sector, as well as providing a good yardstick against which to measure the impact of governmental and NGO interventions made in support of rangers.

The community surveys need to be delivered in

more countries: New partners will likely be needed in order to quickly expand the global coverage of this survey addressing community perception of rangers and protected area managers. Doing so for the first time in countries outside of Southeast Asia should be the immediate priority.