What will it take to professionalize rangers?

There have been widespread calls for rangers to be professionalized, culminating in the recommendation for “full professionalization” at the 2019 World Ranger Congress, led by the International Ranger Federation. There have, however, been no consistent definitions of what this process should involve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parks stewardship forum 2021-01, Vol.37 (1), p.174-184
Main Authors: Appleton, Michael R., Cary-Elwes, Joanna, Fritze, Camilla, Galliers, Chris, Long, Barney, Lowton, Matthew, McCallum, Jamie, Singh, Rohit, Stanciu, Erika
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Community
Ethical standards
Ethics
IMPLEMENTING THE CHITWAN DECLARATION OF THE 9TH WORLD RANGER CONGRESS: NEXT STEPS FOR THE GLOBAL RANGER COMMUNITY
Labor unions
Motivation
National parks
Occupations
Organizational aspects
Professions
Roles
Working conditions
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:There have been widespread calls for rangers to be professionalized, culminating in the recommendation for “full professionalization” at the 2019 World Ranger Congress, led by the International Ranger Federation. There have, however, been no consistent definitions of what this process should involve for rangers or what constitutes a professional ranger. We examine here eight widely acknowledged elements of existing professions and review how they apply to the current ranger occupation. These are (1) A recognized sector; (2) Competences and standards measuring professionalism; (3) Certified training and learning; (4) Remuneration, rights, and working conditions; (5) Standards of ethics and conduct; (6) Personal commitment and motivation; (7) Professional organizations and employers; and (8) Professional representative bodies. Overall, while there are examples of progress in all eight aspects of professionalization, there has been no strategic, consistent, and coordinated program for professionalizing the sector. Across much of the world, the occupation is inadequately recognized, poorly resourced and supported, and falling far short of being a respected and appreciated profession. We offer a range of recommendations for building a global professional framework that can be adapted to and adopted at the national and organizational levels to develop a ranger sector that is ready to meet the growing coverage of protected and conserved areas, the diversification of the ranger workforce, and the increasingly complex demands of the work.
ISSN:2688-187X
2688-187X
DOI:10.5070/P537151748