Field Rangers and Community Scouts (Rangers) can often be the most underappreciated of Africa’s conservation heroes. Without their passion and dedication to protecting wildlife our work towards human-wildlife coexistence on the African continent is doomed.

 

When The Sophia Foundation approached Peace Parks Foundation about sponsoring an Incentive scheme for rangers, we felt this was a gap that needed attention as rangers were widely neglected in spite of the significant risks in their essential work of protecting our wildlife.  As one of the principles of The Sophia Foundation is to add value and develop people in addition to giving grants, an Inner Leadership Programme and a Top Ranger Leadership Award were included as necessary components of our sponsorship.​

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This Success-based Ranger Incentive Scheme has successfully motivated Rangers to apprehend poachers and recover illegal wildlife products, leading to numerous arrests and the removal of poaching equipment from protected areas. In the past three years, the Ranger Support Programme facilitated close to 35 000 patrols and the removal of more than 11 300 wire snares as well as the arrest of 515 poachers, indicating effective biodiversity conservation efforts. The provision of incentives, made possible by The Sophia Foundation, to Rangers in support of their commitment and dedication, is a valuable support mechanism alongside a multi-faceted approach to counter-poaching and fostering human-wildlife coexistence in the transboundary conservation areas where Peace Parks and partners operate.

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It is sometimes only in retrospect that the impact The Sophia Foundation has had on initiatives is realised. Unfortunately, both of the leadership components were difficult to formalise so fell away and in order to be congruent with our principles we could not extend our sponsorship. We did this regrettably but with peace of mind knowing that after Prince William had highlighted the plight of rangers so publicly there would be little difficulty getting sponsorship to continue the programme.

 

Cathryn Gill a resource developer at Peace Parks Foundation, has kindly agreed to share her insights into how the involvement of The Sophia Foundation has influenced the Ranger Incentive Scheme. "While not every aspect of the Ranger Support Programme unfolded as initially planned, the commitment and growth mindset shared by The Sophia Foundation and Peace Parks have been key in driving positive change. The initiatives pioneered through this collaboration promise lasting impacts on ecosystem protection and community trust, ensuring that rangers are well-prepared to face the challenges ahead."