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Dear European rangers,
What does your team look like? Do you work in an all-male environment, at least almost? Then you are in good company. Most ranger teams around the world are primarily this: male. Of course, there are also female rangers. Their proportion is growing, which is great news. The ranger audience is diverse, and so their teams should be too in order to represent this diversity. And without wanting to overuse gender stereotypes, female rangers bring special skills to the diverse profession of rangers. In an environment with constantly growing conflicts between the utilisation and protection of nature, I feel these skills are urgently needed.
But what does the day-to-day work of female rangers look like worldwide, where is there room for improvement, which challenges do exist and what advantages do women bring to the ranger profession? The Swiss ranger Silva set out in search of answers. And as she didn't really find any enlightening results, she created her own survey on female rangers – addressed to both female and male rangers worldwide. We are very much looking forward to the presentation of the results at World Ranger Congress and hope each and every one of you will take part in the survey to complete the picture!
Beforehand, Silva and her cooperation partner Murièle spoke to us about the challenges and benefits they experience as female rangers and why this requires self-irony and perseverance. The latter also applies to ranger work in rewilding projects, as Catalin from Romania tells us. Even more important, however, is the involvement of local people as rangers: their knowledge and network is a major factor in the success of such projects. Just as with many other conservation goals, as stated in the recently published summary of the Forests & Community Initiative conference: Indigenous peoples and local communities are the key to their realisation on the ground – you can find the entire summary linked below!
Just as important is getting the younger generation interested in nature conservation. An exciting opportunity could be the next IUCN Regional Conservation Forum in Bruges, Belgium: The organisers are looking for young volunteers who are passionate about conservation to join their team – link to registration below, please share with volunteers, junior rangers and staff under 35!
Finally, we count eight terrible months since a ranger in our ranks, Ohad Yahalomi from Israel, was abducted. We still hope with all our hearts that this nightmare will have a happy ending!
Have an insightful read
Urs Reif, President of the ERF
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Women in ranger jobs: this is by no means a matter of course, if you look at their still low proportion around the world. Systematic knowledge about how female rangers fare in their day-to-day work is at least as limited. This is why Swiss ranger Silva Lanfranchi developed a survey herself, for which she spoke to international female rangers and won over the IRF and the President of the Swiss Rangers, Murièle Jonglez to represent the results at the upcoming World Ranger Congress. Take part to help ensure that the survey gives a complete picture of the situation of female rangers – regardless of whether you are a male or female ranger, everyone is asked!
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In the beginning, it takes a lot of stamina, self-irony and humour to be respected as a ranger. This is what Murièle Jonglez and Silva Lanfranchi have to say about their start as rangers. But they made it as the first female rangers and even the first to ever work in the profession in their respective regions. In this interview, they explain why the job and the impact they have through it is so important to them, what parallels they see to famous international women's ranger groups like the Black Mambas, and what they hope to gain from the female ranger survey.
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Involve the local population: This is key to the success of reintroduction projects, says Catalin Josan. The Ranger and Rewilding Officer from Rewilding Romania speaks from experience: in two rewilding projects for bison, he has learnt how fundamental the acceptance of the project by locals is. At the project in the Țarcu Mountains local people are therefore part of the ranger team. While the participants of our latest Training in Romania have already received valuable tips from Catalin, he shares tips for all in our interview and explains, what makes this project of Rewilding Romania and WWF Romania so successful.
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After the inaugural conference of the Forests & Communities Initiative (FCI) last autumn on the theme "Inclusive Conservation: Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at the Forefront of Forest Protection", the FCI published the summaries of the conference. With over 100 people attending, including many representatives of Indigenous and local communities from around the world, the conference aimed to identify needs, share lessons learned, develop recommendations, and build a community of practice. The ERF was also represented and would like to recommend this conference publication to you.
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Please note the call for 18 to 35 years old volunteers at the upcoming IUCN Regional Conservation Forum in Bruges, Belgium. The organisators are looking for six volunteers from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia. They will receive round trip transport to Bruges, Belgium, covered accommodation and meals, and youth engagement training. The volunteers should be available to attend in-person for the entire RCF, arriving on Sunday 29 September, attending the RCF from 30 September to 2 October and assisting with excursions planned for 3 October. Registration Deadline is 31 May!
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The 10th World Ranger Congress of the International Ranger Federation (IRF) will be hosted by Gardes Nature de France (GNF) on the theme "Empowering Rangers Globally to meet the 30 x 30 Challenge".
Check out the congress website for registration, accommodation booking and further information.
Volunteers are needed to help with the on-site organisation! If you are interested, please contact wrc@internationalrangers.org
Please note: The registration of European rangers is currently paused because the IRF states that it wants to allow registrations from other regions of the world to catch up. This is a conflict that we are currently negotiating with the IRF.
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This newsletter didn't reach you directly by mail? Register now to be informed conveniently in time about news, trainings, interviews and reports for and about Europe's rangers – and share the registration link with your fellow rangers.
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