How improving ranger wellbeing can help us tackle the climate crisis

Improving the welfare of rangers worldwide is not only the right thing to do. It is also crucial to curbing the twin crises that threaten life on Earth: climate change and biodiversity loss.

Great responsibilities – and too little support

Around the world, rangers are on the front lines protecting the planet’s last remaining ecosystems and the wildlife they sustain. Rangers patrol protected areas in search of poachers and loggers. They collect data on endangered wildlife populations. They remove inhumane traps, reducing the chance that animals will be maimed or killed. And they act as a bridge to local communities, doing everything from managing human-wildlife conflict to educating children about the unique species found in their backyards.

But these daily tasks ignore the difficult conditions under which many rangers work. Because most parks are in remote areas and many cannot accommodate families, many rangers must live apart from their loved ones, sometimes seeing them only a few times a year. Housing is very basic, often concrete-block bunk beds with tin roofs and minimal temperature control. Due to limited resources, they may not have access to proper uniforms or sturdy boots, or even transportation to adequately patrol the park. In countries with unstable governments, rangers can go for months without pay. Living far from hospitals is another challenge: if someone gets sick or injured on the job, evacuating them can be a nightmare.

And sometimes the consequences are worse: more than 100 rangers worldwide die in the line of duty each year. While the majority succumb to disease or accidents, more than 42% of ranger deaths between 2006 and 2021 were the result of human violence. Some of those deaths occur during conflicts with communities; for example, since 2002, 15 rangers have been killed and 35 others maimed for life in Uganda’s Mount Elgon National Park in clashes with villagers encroaching on the park’s fertile mountainsides for agriculture. An increasingly common situation around the world as human populations grow and available land becomes scarcer, it underscores the need to help communities near protected areas improve their crop yields and reap more benefits from preserving ecosystems than from destroying them.

However, the majority of rangers killed in the line of duty are killed by poachers or others with ties to organized crime. These groups go after lucrative products such as ivory, and the poachers are armed and not easily deterred due to the large potential payout combined with the low risk of being caught.

Tragically, ranger casualties appear to be increasing worldwide. The death of each ranger leaves a family that must deal not only with the painful loss of a family member, but also with the loss of a source of income that could have paid for essentials such as school fees, medical care and other support.