We stand with Rangers

Every year on World Ranger Day, we take a moment to reflect on the incredible dedication, sacrifice, and courage shown by our rangers, and rangers across the globe.

These are the people working on the frontlines of conservation, often in remote, dangerous, and challenging conditions, to protect the world’s wild places and the animals that call them home.

Rangers face real challenges! Extreme weather, the dangers of remote wilderness, conflict and more. It’s hard work. And yet, every day, they show up.

At Sumatran Ranger Project, we’re proud to stand behind a team of 11 local rangers (men and women) who work on the forest-edge of the Leuser Ecosystem in North Sumatra, Indonesia. 

It is one of the most biodiverse environments ever described and millions of people depend on it for food, water and livelihoods. Protecting it isn’t just important, it’s critical.

Our rangers are out in the field nearly every day. They deactivate and destroy traps and snares, provide community outreach and education, mitigate and prevent human-wildlife conflict, collect vital data from the forest, and support communities to achieve sustainable and practical solutions to issues that affect quality of life and livelihoods.

Their work is not only about preventing harm, but about creating solutions. Through trust-building and outreach with forest-edge communities, our rangers help people find safer, more sustainable ways to live alongside wildlife, protecting both biodiversity and livelihoods.

What makes our team so special is that they are all local community members. 

These are people who understand the land intimately, and deeply care about preserving it for future generations. Many of them began this work out of a desire to protect the wildlife and wild places they’ve known since childhood, and to keep the forest standing for their children and grandchildren.

Today we also honour and remember fallen ranger Serasi, who dedicated his life to protecting the people and wildlife of Gunung Leuser National Park. He was hugely respected by our team, but also by the many forest-edge communities that he worked with.

On World Ranger Day, we want to say: we see you, we value you, and we thank you.

To our team of rangers, and to rangers all around the world – we stand with you.