Insufficient numbers and poor working conditions for rangers protecting tigers

Abstract

Protected area rangers are planetary health care workers and are at the frontline of the protection of wildlife and wild places. Ensuring that there are sufficient rangers in protected areas, and that these rangers are equipped and provided with decent working conditions, is critical to protecting iconic species such as tiger Panthera tigris. Using data from a global survey of public‐sector ranger numbers, we estimate the shortfall in the number of rangers required to safeguard protected areas in Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) across the 10 Asian countries with breeding tigers. We calculate the cost required to address this shortfall in ranger numbers. We also estimate the costs for meeting a subset of the welfare needs of rangers aligned to the Chitwan Declaration of the World Ranger Congress. We estimate that a minimum of 12,500 more rangers are required across ~320,000 km2 of tiger‐bearing protected areas. We estimate this would cost US$ 45.8 million annually. The majority (63%) of these rangers are required in three Southeast Asian countries, which have declining tiger numbers. To meet a subset of the basic welfare needs of rangers, we estimate that an additional US$ 7.8 million is required annually across the 10 countries. While the funding gap that we estimate excludes many aspects of effective protected area management, we provide further evidence that protected areas in the biodiverse tropics remain underfunded. Increasing funding for rangers is a critical component of what is required to protect the tiger and tiger landscapes. We urge tiger range country governments, and the global conservation community, to secure this funding. Increasing the numbers of rangers, and effectively supporting their welfare, will increase our ability to protect the tiger and the ecologically significant landscapes in which it occurs.