Recommendations

Given their critical role in safeguarding valuable natural resources and ecosystem services, rangers should be fully professionalized and supported in a manner commensurate to that of a sector mandated to protect territorial integrity and uphold the rule oflaw.

In order to accomplish this, governments should:

Comprehensively analyze survey results from their countries (these will be provided by WWF and its partners), and use them to draft strategies and polices that improve ranger welfare and effectiveness. The findings should also be used to leverage more resources for rangers, and better allocate existing funds.

Consult with non-governmental organizations in this planning to ensure the most strategic and effective distribution of capacity in support of rangers.

Initiate new research on rangers and implement a plan for tracking important ranger-related indicators and statistics at regular intervals.

Comprehensively review and then improve ranger training curricula, with particular attention to training in matters that may impact ranger safety. Organizations with specialized knowledge of best practice training approaches (such as contributors to the publication AntiPoaching in and Around Protected Areas: Training Guidelines for Field Rangers) should be invited to input into these processes.

Establish processes that build trust between rangers and the indigenous peoples and local community members they will encounter during the course of their work. Introducing new opportunities for constructive dialogue and interaction between rangers and these groups will be central to this. Review ranger remuneration and career advancement policies, to ensure that such employees are fairly rewarded and remain highly motivated.

Act fast to improve ranger safety, given that the clearest theme to emerge from ranger feedback is that there are considerable gaps that unnecessarily expose them to severe illness, injury or death. Governments must address these gaps as a matter of priority, particularly by:

Guaranteeing access to basic necessities, including adequate shelter, boots and clothing, as well as clean drinking water.

Improving the availability and quality of emergency medical care and reducing response time in delivering qualified medical attention to injured rangers in the field. Additionally, First Aid training needs to be provided to all rangers, with First Aid certification seen as a prerequisite to undertaking any patrol work.

Providing insurance coverage for serious injury or death to all rangers and ensuring that this coverage is to a living wage.

Greatly expanding ranger access to communications technology when they patrol. This means guaranteeing that a suitable communication network is in place, and that rangers at all times have access to a communication device that is appropriate to local conditions.