African rangers such as Benson Kanyembo face dangers every day as they carry out their vital work. Now a new initiative has been set up to help support them, says James Fair
“I’ve been chased by elephants and buffalos, and one time I woke up surrounded by 14 lions”
Benson Kanyembo has been working as a ranger for 25 years, initially with Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife and now for the NGO Conservation South Luangwa, and he says he faces deadly risks on a regular basis.
“The dangers range from armed poachers to the animals you are protecting,” he says. “I’ve been chased by elephants and buffalos, and one time my team and I woke up to find ourselves surrounded by 14 lions.” If you don’t have the right footwear, snakes and scorpions are another threat.
Africa’s rangers are at the frontline of the battle to save the continent’s wildlife, and that’s why the conservation charity Tusk has set up a new initiative in partnership with the Game Rangers Association of Africa to give them better financial protection.
The plan is to offer 10,000 rangers across the continent accident, medical, evacuation and life insurance, plus additional training and leadership skills.
Part of the idea, says Tusk CEO Nick Bubb, is to help raise standards within the ranger profession. “Ultimately, we want to drive up standards within the industry, making it more appealing for people as a career,” he says. “It’s better if it’s seen as a good job, not a dangerous one.”
Launching the initiative at the United for Wildlife global summit, HRH The Prince of Wales – whose Royal Foundation has provided financial backing – said it would give rangers and their families greater reassurance for the sometimes perilous work they do. “We cannot protect our planet without them,” he pointed out.
Benson Kanyembo will regularly have to send a team out into the field with the prospect of encountering armed poachers, people who could be killing animals for their meat, though “95 per cent of the time, they are poaching for the illegal wildlife trade,” he says.
But he had wanted to do this job since he was 10 years old, and nothing has ever deterred him (not even being wrongly charged with an offence for which he served three months in jail and for which he was never charged) from his chosen career.
The hope now is that Tusk’s new initiative will encourage even more Africans to become guardians of its rich biodiversity.
Find out more about the Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative.
Main image: Benson Kanyembo – Tusk Wildlife Award Ranger Winner/Tusk Conservation Symposium
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