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World Female Ranger Day Launches 23 June

Mark Bibby Jackson
World Female Ranger day

PHUNDUNDU WILDLIFE AREA, ZIMBABWE, JUNE 2018: Specially selected women from an all female. conservation ranger force undergo sniper training in the bush to curb poaching. Akashinga (meaning the ‘Brave Ones’ in local dialect) is a community-driven conservation model, empowering disadvantaged women to restore and manage a network of wilderness areas as an alternative to trophy hunting. Many current western-conceived solutions to conserve wilderness areas struggle to gain traction across the African continent. Predominately male forces are hampered by ongoing corruption, nepotism, drunkenness, aggressiveness towards local communities and a sense of entitlement. The I.A.P.F, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation led by former Australian Special Forces soldier Damien Mander, was created as a direct action conservation organisation to be used as a surgical instrument in targeting wildlife crime. In 2017 they decided to innovate, using an all- female team to manage an entire nature reserve in Zimbabwe. The program builds an alternative approach to the militarized paradigm of ‘fortress conservation’ which defends colonial boundaries between nature and humans. While still trained to deal with any situation they may face, the team has a community-driven interpersonal focus, working with rather than against the local population for the long-term benefits of their own communities and nature. Cut off from places of worship and burial, grazing areas, access to water, food, traditional medicine and given limited opportunity for employment or tourism benefits, it’s little wonder many of these communities struggle to see any value in conservation efforts. Women have traditionally played major roles in battle and are now re-emerging as key solutions in law enforcement and conflict resolution. In the Middle-East, counterinsurgency operations that involve penetrating and working with the local population to try and win the hearts and minds have become fundamentally reli

World Female Ranger Day (WFRD) is a global awareness day aimed to celebrate female anti-poaching rangers across the world. Launching for the first time on 23 June, the global awareness day has been created by UK conservation charity, How Many Elephants (HME) with the aim to protect important and endangered species as well as empower and support incredible female anti-poaching teams.

Despite less than 11% of the global wildlife ranger workforce being female, HME has identified that there are female anti-poaching teams in many countries around the world and in at least 18 African countries. The launch of the global day in 2021 will focus on the incredible female anti-poaching teams across Africa and shine a light on these wildlife rangers on the front line of conservation.

How Many Elephants, founded by adventurer and conservationist Holly Budge, has worked closely with female anti-poaching teams in Africa including South Africa’s Black Mambas and the Akashinga in Zimbabwe.

Phundundu Wildlife Area, Zimbabwe, credit Brent Stirton

Many of these inspirational women have overcome abuse, extreme poverty and marginalization and their important work in animal conservation and anti-poaching is changing attitudes towards female roles in local communities. Through their contribution in protecting wildlife and threatened wilderness areas, their work is inspiring, empowering and paving the way for more women to join these forces.

HME and WFRD aims to collate gender-specific data about female anti-poaching rangers, identify their needs, find tangible solutions, and build effective policies to contribute towards positive outcomes for female rangers and animal conservation.

HME is dedicated to contributing towards the protection of elephants and other iconic and threatened species. By creating World Female Ranger Day, wild animals will have a greater chance of survival due to the stronger presence of anti-poaching rangers on the front line. Safeguarding these wild spaces and deterring poaching activity, the strong and powerful women are an instrumental force in the protection and the future of these vulnerable animals.

Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, Credit Ilan Godfrey, Getty Images.

About How Many Elephants

How Many Elephants is an innovative, design-led charity educating a global audience about the devastating impacts of the African elephant ivory trade and raising vital funds for front-line rangers.

About World Female Ranger Day

World Female Ranger Day (WFRD), co-founded by Holly Budge (Founder of HME) and Margot Dempsey (Head of Communications at HME), is a global awareness day, taking place on the 23 June annually, to celebrate and support female anti-poaching rangers across the world, spotlighting Africa this year. WFRD was created by UK charity, How Many Elephants (1186238), as part of its mission to support conservation efforts worldwide.

Main image: Phundundu Wildlife Area, Zimbabwe, credit Brent Stirton.

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