Charity how many elephants is backed by Africa Travel Week
#everydayisworldfemalerangerday
World Female Ranger Day (WFRD) is a global awareness day aimed to celebrate female anti-poaching rangers worldwide. Launched for the first time on Wednesday 23rd June 2021, with celebrations continuing throughout the year, the global awareness day was created by UK conservation charity, How Many Elephants (HME) to protect important and endangered species as well as empower and support incredible female anti-poaching teams.
They're bold, changing the game and paving the way for women to stand alongside men at the forefront of conservation, but they need allies. This year is the first time female wildlife rangers will be recognised collectively on a global interactive and fundraising-focused platform, telling their stories, having access to peer support, offering and receiving advice, and sharing knowledge. As champions of wildlife conservation, as role models, as educators and as beacons of hope, these women are transforming attitudes towards the role of women in Africa and beyond and showing the capabilities and success of females in traditionally male roles.
Less than 11% of the global wildlife ranger workforce is female. With women being natural communicators, protectors and investing their earned income in their families, bringing gender equality into the workforce enhances conservation efforts and relationships within communities.
Over the last 18 months, COVID-19 has crippled tourism and funding for conservation projects within Africa and globally. The lack of tourists visiting National Parks has led to many rangers losing their jobs or having significant salary cuts. The knock-on effect of this is huge, as one ranger alone may support up to 16 family members. Additionally, reduced vigilance in tourist hotspots has left wildlife even more vulnerable to poaching. The work of rangers is paramount right now.
In dedication to supporting female anti-poaching rangers, How Many Elephants (HME) has established this important awareness day and the accompanying online platform - www.worldfemalerangerday.org
Co-founder of World Female Ranger Day (WFRD), (and founder of HME), Holly Budge, says “We have all seen the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on the travel industry. It has put the breaks on global movements, confining us all within our own countries. As humans, we want to travel, explore, and experience other cultures. There is beauty in the desire to meet people from other walks of life. It’s what connects us all, as humankind. The pandemic has put a temporary stop to that. It has reminded us of the important role tourism plays in the livelihoods of people and the conservation of wildlife. I’m sure that we will come out of the pandemic with an even more precious view on travel, and a greater understanding of our fragile relationship with nature.”
HME supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)Specifically no.5 - Gender Equality, no.15 - Life on Land and no.17 - Partnerships for the Goals. In keeping with these goals, HME hopes that the launch of WFRD is the start of a long-standing campaign to support female-led conservation efforts across the globe and increase gender diversity in anti-poaching ranger teams.
HME seeking partnerships..
HME is seeking out long term strategic partnerships with travel companies, associations and global citizens to expand the reach of the campaign to ultimately strengthen the support of female rangers. Businesses and individuals can set up their own fundraising pages via www.worldfemalerangerday.org
World Female Ranger Day is co-founded by Holly Budge
(Founder of HME) and Margot Dempsey (Head of Communications at HME). To get
involved, email gulp@howmanyelephants.org.
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