WILDLIFE RANGER CHALLENGE: IMPACT Madagascar is part of it!

July 31st is World Ranger Day and on this day we celebrate the heroic work of the wildlife rangers at our project sites, as well as the work of rangers across the African continent! With the COVID-19 pandemic, the role that rangers play is more important than ever. This pandemic has seriously affected the economy and the people of Madagascar, especially in rural areas where many communities rely heavily or exclusively on tourism or conservation programs for their revenues. This loss of income has led to a rise in the exploitation of natural resources and illegal wildlife activities.

Where IMPACT Madagascar work in the northwestern and central highlands of Madagascar, where some of the last remaining fragments of dry and gallery forest exist and where wetlands and lakes act as crucial water sources for local communities, habitats are being decimated by unsustainable use. Even in normal times these ecosystems are put under immense pressure, and now during the COVID-19 pandemic when people have nowhere else to turn for subsistence, the fauna and flora are even more at risk. These areas contain multiple endangered and critically endangered species making their protection all the more imperative.

The main way to ensure that these vulnerable habitats aren’t completely decimated is to offer them protection through frequent environmental surveillance. Our rangers (also called ‘polisinala’, ‘polisindrano’, ‘patrouilleurs’ or ‘forest guards’) are community members who tirelessly patrol the forests and the wetlands to make sure that the natural resources are not being over-exploited or destroyed. These rangers are out in the field day and night, protecting the plants and animals that cannot protect themselves, taking a stand for the voiceless, and making sure these unique species can survive into the future. Without the essential work of these rangers we would not be able to do the work we do. That’s why we are excited to be joining the Wildlife Ranger Challenge and appreciate them for everything they do!

To mark World Ranger Day, NGOs Tusk, NATURAL STATE and Global Wildlife Conservation have partnered with over 50 ranger units, the Game Rangers Association of Africa, The Thin Green Line, For Rangers, and the International Ranger Federation to launch the pan-African challenge. The Scheinberg Relief Fund, the Challenge’s founding donor, has generously committed $5 million of matching funds in support of rangers, with the goal of raising a total of $10 million and getting thousands of rangers back to full capacity! Funds raised will cover salaries for at least 5,000 rangers, enabling them to provide for their families, protect communities and defend endangered wildlife in some of the continent’s most vulnerable areas.

#ForWildlifeRangers WildlifeRangerChallenge.com

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