New female ranger training programme heralds wins for equality

Set up by the Great Plains Foundation, the charitable arm of conservation tourism organisation Great Plains, the initiative is taking place in Botswana’s Okavango Delta followed by Zimbabwe’s Sapi Reserve.

Great Plains founders and National Geographic filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the driving forces behind the programme, explained: “This holds equally tremendous significance for gender equality and conservation, the challenging of gender norms, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and building the next generation of local change agents prepared to conserve African wildlife and wild landscapes. 

“Women want to work in the conservation front-line sector and we have been overwhelmed by the number of applications.”

The Female Ranger Programme trains and deploys female rangers in ecologically significant areas in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and aims to do the same in Zimbabwe’s  Zambezi National Park, which are also home to its Duba Plains and Tembo Plains camps.

Women living in rural communities surrounding these protected areas face limited schooling options, narrow career prospects, and gender oppression. However, if provided with the education, resources, and skill-building opportunities, they can become both leading ambassadors for conservation in their local communities and leaders to young girls.
 
This project provides formal capacity building, training and mentoring plus the employment of 24 female rangers in the Okavango Delta, over the next two years. The Great Plains’ Female Ranger Team will be responsible for natural resource monitoring across these areas.
 
Female rangers have proven more capable of de-escalating conflict, leading to more peaceable relationships with local populations. On average, female rangers have shown great commitment — their loyalty to protecting land and animals akin to protecting their own children. As women tend to be more socially connected within their villages, female rangers may also receive more tips on poaching and illegal wildlife-orientated activities.

For women living in communities that border protected areas, becoming a wildlife monitor is a unique opportunity to develop a specialised skill set that creates some economic autonomy, contributing significantly to gender equity. 

Eventually Great Plains envisions this project growing into a Wildlife and Environmental Field Skills-based certificate from a training institute in Botswana and Zimbabwe for women who, otherwise, may never have had a chance of further education. 

Great Plains also aims to amplify female citizens by providing female rangers with a platform on which to share their unique stories and educate others working in conservation, including Great Plains’ own team.
 
The female rangers will operate patrol vehicles and various monitoring equipment, as well as track wildlife crime activity. In patrols, they will note ecology fluctuations, conduct animal data mapping, and observe movement patterns – all valuable tools vital in conserving the unique ecological community. 

These first teams of female rangers will also take on leadership roles for future training cohorts.

The next phase of the project involves hiring and training a further 17 female rangers in Botswana under the team leaders.

A hiring and training female ranger unit in Zimbabwe will be part of the Great Plains’ Project ReWild Zambezi, an ambitious relocation of 3,000 animals, including elephant, lion, wild dogs and more, from an area of overpopulation to the Sapi Reserve, managed by Great Plains.

Dereck Joubert added: “There is no doubt that the world’s ecosystems are in a fragile state. Poaching and hunting are ever-increasing threats to the Africa we know. This initiative will fortify our defences and empower women. We have a timely opportunity to shift our strategy to better protect vulnerable species, environments, and people.

“Our Female Ranger Team will provide a unique opportunity for marginalised women to be seen and respected by their community and the world around them. We cannot stand to let poaching and hunting fragment our land, destroy our animals, and desensitise our communities. This step in the process is only the beginning; future iterations hold the potential to preserve vast landscapes and change the course of our planet’s future.”

Visit greatplainsfoundation.com