By URN
Prince William has announced a new five-year initiative aimed at protecting over 10,000 rangers in Africa’s national parks.
A groundbreaking new collaboration means thousands of men and women working on the frontline of conservation will be healthier, safer, and better protected if they are injured, including fatally.
The Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative enables wildlife rangers to expand access to appropriate, affordable work, and medical evacuation insurance over five years. It will provide the rangers with opportunities for training and leadership development.
Rangers are the guardians of biodiversity. Their role is fundamental to environmental security and human wellbeing, and to safeguarding nature for future generations. Rangers also play a vital role in reaching the Global Biodiversity Framework targets including the 30×30 goal to protect 30% of the world’s land and oceans by 2030.
Yet rangers are frequently exposed to life-threatening situations and their efforts to safeguard threatened species, habitats and local communities is under-valued and under-respected. Poor remuneration and working conditions, long hours, and a lack of basic training and equipment are common.
Currently, 62% of rangers lack any life insurance and 40% need more health and safety training, according to the International Ranger Federation’s 2024 State of the Ranger Report. There are close to 60,000 terrestrial and 6,000 marine rangers working in Africa.
Tusk developed the Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative in partnership with the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA) with financial support of The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The initiative also has the backing of the International Ranger Federation.
HRH The Prince of Wales, Royal Patron of Tusk, launched the programme in a landmark speech on November 5, 2024 at United for Wildlife’s 3rd Global Summit in Cape Town. HRH The Prince of Wales said, “We cannot protect our planet without [rangers], which is why this initiative aims to ensure that rangers receive much-needed life insurance cover, giving them and their families reassurance that they are protected for the dangerous job they do. It will be led by those who protect nature, for those who protect nature.”
The Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative (RWSI) aims to expand the RangerProtect insurance scheme. It is expected to reach more rangers to allow them to confidently and effectively perform their duties knowing that they are properly trained and resourced, with adequate insurance that supports them and their families in the event of an accident or fatality.
It is the first sustained multi-year combined standards and insurance initiative to be rolled out across Africa, and the first time that the organisations have collaborated on such a project. Above all, it aims to make the job of being a ranger a respected, recognised, admired profession that people aspire to join.
Nick Bubb, CEO of Tusk Trust, said, “The status and welfare of rangers needs urgent redressing: rangers are the world’s guardians of biodiversity and play a pivotal role in maintaining planetary health, which is fundamental to human wellbeing.
It is time that we fully recognise and support their work through the RWSI’s collaborative and progressive initiative, if we are to safeguard nature for future generations and if we are to reach the Global Biodiversity Framework targets. We are united in our belief that empowering rangers through the RWSI is a hugely positive development for the future of African biodiversity and, as it is replicable to other parts of the world, for the future of the planet.”
Andrew Campbell, CEO of Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA) said rangers are one of the world’s most important assets in the fight against the degradation of nature, yet they remain insufficiently recognised for their contributions.
The RWSI will improve and promote the well-being, rights and professional standards of rangers across Africa to ensure that they are adequately supported, protected and empowered. We need to work together to protect the protectors and acknowledge their immense contribution to nature that benefits both people and wildlife.”
The Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative has been designed to be spearheaded by African rangers for the benefit of African rangers, with a Leadership Council composed of rangers drawn from the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, GRAA members, as well as alumni of Tusk’s Wildlife Ranger Award.
Felix Chimeramombe, Senior Regional Manager for Mid-Zambezi for the Zimbabwean state conservation agency Zimparks, said, “This is inspirational and motivational to all the field operatives. It reassures them with a sense of protection and great care during duty execution.
