IUCN Protected Areas and World Commission on Protected Areas are proud to announce the new International Ranger Awards, developed in collaboration with the International Ranger Federation, Global Wildlife Conservation, and Conservation Allies.

People need nature, wild places and green spaces, for our health and well-being, and for our water, air and food. Rangers are the people who care for those places and for those who need and enjoy them. 

Rangers are women, men, government staff, community members, landowners, indigenous peoples, NGO workers, volunteers, and many more. 

They do all types of work: resisting poaching and land grabbing, guiding visitors, fighting fires, providing an early warning system for threats and problems. Rangers often work for little reward and with much risk; more than 1000 have been killed in the line of duty in the past decade.

That is why these awards will recognise the remarkable work of rangers in protected and conserved areas around the world. Each Awardee will receive a unique uniform patch and their employing/supporting organisation will receive US$10,000 to support their work (e.g. purchasing essential supplies or equipment, providing training, providing insurance supporting the family of a deceased ranger, and more).

Nominations must come from IUCN Member organisations, WCPA members, or International Ranger Federation member associations. No self-nomination will be accepted.

To nominate a ranger or team, please fill out the nomination form (also available in French, Portuguese and Spanish). Please note that all nominations must include details of a recognised organisation able to transparently receive, distribute, administer, and account for the award funds. This could, for example, be an NGO, a ranger association, or an IUCN office.

Nominations are open until 31 December 2020. The awards will be announced in early 2021.

If you have any questions regarding the awards, please contact tcunningham@globalwildlife.org.

To learn more, click here.