ERF Newsletter January 25
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Dear European rangers,
The new year is in full swing, also with regard to international ranger exchanges to fulfil the increasingly demanding role of rangers as a link between nature and people.
Right now, the XXIV Portuguese Park Ranger Meeting of the Portuguese Ranger Association is running, with international rangers and across borders, as excursions are being organised in Spain and Portugal. In person of our training officer Borja Díaz, we too are taking part in this exchange on the topic of ‘Biodiversity across borders’, in which rangers and conservationists from all over Europe are discussing solutions for the balance and functioning of the natural environment.
Preparations for the German Ranger Meeting in March, hopefully also with many international guests, are in progress, while we are happy to welcome new members and talk to candidates who are likely to expand our ranger community to new countries.
As part of our ‘Two Rangers, Two Projects’ format, we brought together two rangers from Italy and France, which both work on solutions for the coexistence of humans and wildlife day to day. And our report on a Wadden Sea ranger shows how vital this profession is in protecting the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site with its key ecosystem services for all life on this planet.
Whilst environmental education plays a major role in ranger work on the North Sea coast, the same applies to rangers in Switzerland, where Junior Ranger Programmes have a strong tradition. All over Europe, many of them are award-winning initiatives that connect future generations with nature, such as one of the first programmes, the Junior Rangers in the Bavarian Forest National Park, and, with a brand new award, the programme initiated by the Greifensee Rangers in Switzerland.
Plus: Check out our latest ranger portraits! We hope they will inspire the one or other of you to tell us your personal Ranger Story and thus contribute to giving European rangers an ever louder voice in the public and, especially, among decision-makers in nature conservation: press@europeanrangers.org.
At this point, I would like to express my deep hope that another voice will be back very soon: that of ERF member and ranger Ohad Yahalomi. After 16 dark months of being held hostage, these days of hope must be so hard to bear for his loved ones.
With my thoughts also with all our ranger colleagues in further crisis areas, I wish all a quick turnaround to clearly more hopeful times.
Urs Reif, President of the ERF
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Our latest double portrait ‘Two Rangers, Two Projects’ shows how Guido Baldi from Italy and Romain Lacoste from France dedicate their ranger work to cooperating with inhabitants in and around the protected areas. While Guido and his team ensure that wild boar do not cause damage to farmers, private property or traffic, Romain and his fellow rangers act as an interface between Alpine farmers in the Mercantour, their livestock guarding dogs, visitors to the national park and wolves. A job that is greatly appreciated by the farmers, as Romain reports, while Guido explains how controlling wild boar serves the welfare of so many other species and the public’s acceptance of conservation. Read about the dedication to coexistence between wildlife and humans.
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The largest contiguous sand and mudflat system in the world, the most bird-rich area in Central Europe, central hub of the East Atlantic shorebird migration route and World Heritage Site: Wadden Sea ranger Leonie Dittmann’s workplace is not exactly short of superlatives. And because the Wadden Sea, with its around 10,000 animal and plant species and the wide range of ecosystem services it provides, is central to all of our futures, so is Leonie’s work to protect it in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park in Germany. The ranger conveys her own fascination, knowledge and understanding for protecting the fragile wadden world, while also for the livelihood of locals. Learn more in our report from the North Sea coast!
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We are delighted to welcome two new members who have joined the IRF and, as European organisations, also us, the European Ranger Federation: The Desniansko-Starohutskyi National Nature Park in Ukraine and the Griffin Ranger GmbH from Switzerland. A very warm welcome to the rangers of both organisations! While the Ukrainian rangers received the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) International Ranger Award in 2023 for exceptional dedication to conservation through peace-time and war, the Griffin Rangers are professionals in resolving conflicts between the human claim to use landscape and nature versus the protection of natural habitats and wildlife. Great to expand our ranger expertise and include new valuable facets! You want to join too? Please click below.
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The Junior Ranger Programme of the Swiss Greifensee Foundation Rangers, which was set up more than 12 years ago and is now active in around 15 areas of Switzerland in collaboration with the Swiss Rangers, has won the Sustainability Award of the city of Uster. We are delighted, especially with Niki Göth, our former Board member and initiator of this programme – heartfelt congratulations! As winner of the sustainability category, the Junior Ranger programme received a trophy, a bouquet of flowers and CHF 10,000. Plus a nice video that you can see here.
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Our Europe Regional Representative reports
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- 23 to 30 June 2025: Female Ranger Week
- 31 July 2025: World Ranger Day
- August 2025: Indigenous Ranger Day
- September 2025: African Ranger Congress
- 9 to 15 October 2025: IUCN World Conservation Congress
- IRF Working Groups have been defined: Learn more about the work groups the IRF Europe Representative takes part in (Communication, Governance, Membership, World Ranger Congress, Financial Review) here.
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The Foundation Conservation Carpathia (FCC) is celebrating 15 years of activity dedicated to protecting nature in the Făgăraș Mountains and supporting the surrounding communities. Our heartfelt congratulations to our co-operation partner for the European Ranger Congress for building a future in which people and nature can thrive together! More about the FCC's impressive work in
- Projects to preserve and restore the environment
- Revitalisation of wildlife
- Supporting local communities
- Ecotourism infrastructure and events
- Partnerships and the future of the Făgăraș Mountains National Park
can be read in the review on the foundation's website (use your browser's translation tool in case of need).
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The Portuguese Rangers are currently hosting the XXIV National Meeting of Portuguese Park Rangers and XVIII Technical Conference.
- 30 January to 2 February 2025
- in the Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António Marshland Nature Reserve
- Theme: Biodiversity without Borders
All details can be found on the meeting's website.
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The 2025 International Ranger Awards are open for nominations until 31st January 2025.
- Awardees will be announced during 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi (October 9 - 15, 2025)
- Winners will receive awards ranging from $25,000 to $10,000 to support the protected and conserved areas where they work
To nominate a ranger or a ranger team:
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The German National Association of Nature Guards, Bundesverband Naturwacht, invites to its 30th national conference in the Rhön Biosphere Reserve on the topic:
- Rangers – Networked in the region
Best practice examples from the Rhön region
- From 12 to 14 March 2025
For detailed information on programme and registration please check out this website.
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Please note that after long preparation, a change to the original date proved to be a better option for the next European Ranger Congress in cooperation with the Romanian Ranger Association and Foundation Conservation Carpathia:
- from 6 to 10 October 2025
- in Brașov County, Romania, in immediate vicinity of Piatra Craiului National Park
- on the topic
'Rangers – the voice of nature
Building a bridge between local communities and nature conservation'
Detailed information on programme and registration will follow soon. Please be aware that there may be further slight shifts in the course of planning!
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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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