To celebrate International Ranger Day - 31st July, the National Trust
gathered its countryside staff alongside colleagues and peers from
organisations such as Natural England, Cumbria Rivers Trust and United
Utilities for a conference held at University of Cumbria's Ambleside campus.
International Ranger Day is an initiative of the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) and International Ranger Federation (IRF) which invites everyone to acknowledge the work done by Rangers in protecting our precious natural and cultural heritage.
Keynote speaker at the event was Gordon Miller from the
IRF, who described the challenges faced by Rangers
around the world working in Protected Areas. He described the ever-
increasing threats including poaching, encroachment on protected area and that
rangers in the field often pay the ultimate price for their devotion to the
task.
Gordon said of the event: “This past 12 months has seen over
50 rangers from 20 countries lose their lives to poachers, from others
threatening their parks and accidents. Most losses are from homicide and others
from accidents that illustrate the often hazardous environment that they face,
particularly in developing countries.
“World Ranger Day gives us an opportunity to pay homage to
those who have perished and urge governments to 'protect the protectors'.
The dedication of rangers, particularly in the developing world, deserves our
gratitude if our precious protected areas are to remain havens for our
diminishing natural and cultural assets.”
Protected Areas – national parks, wilderness areas,
community-conserved areas, nature reserves and so on – are a mainstay of
biodiversity conservation, while also contributing to people’s livelihoods,
particularly at the local level. Protected areas are at the core of efforts
towards conserving nature and the services it provides us – food, clean water
supply, medicines and protection from the impacts of natural disasters.
Sam Stalker, Lead Ranger for the National Trust in the
western Lake District, and event organiser said: “Opportunities for
Rangers to get together and share their professional knowledge are few and far between
– we’re almost always out in the landscape we love. Days like this give us a
rare chance to share our conservation knowledge. “
The Ambleside celebration also included the announcement
that the National Trust has become a corporate member of the Countryside
Management Association. Sam added:
For more information about the International Rangers Federation and how you can get involved please visit their website at http://www.internationalrangers.org/
For an interesting look at International Ranger Day in Thailand, please click here to see a blog post from the IUCN
For more information about the Countryside Management association please visit their website at http://countrysidemanagement.org.uk/
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