Rangers saluted for hard work, self-sacrifice
Game and field rangers from all over the province made their way to the Makapan valley, situated 50km outside Polokwane, on Tuesday August 19 to celebrate World Ranger Day for the very first time in the department of environmental affair's history.
POLOKWANE – Game and field rangers from all over the province made their way to the Makapan valley, situated 50km outside Polokwane, on Tuesday August 19 to celebrate World Ranger Day for the very first time in the department of environmental affair’s history.
The day is celebrated around the world each year on July 31. The first World Ranger Day was held in 2007 and was hosted by the International Ranger Federation. To celebrate the province’s rangers, candles were lit and indigenous trees were planted as a living tribute to the more than 600 rangers serving in the 43 state-owned nature reserves across the province. Those who had lost their lives or were injured in the line of duty were also honoured.
Economic development, environment and tourism MEC Seaparo Sekoati joined in the day. Addressing the rangers present, Sekoati said it was a well-known fact that poaching had reached alarming proportions in the province and around the country. He said those in the firing line faced all sorts of dangers on a daily basis, and in spite of this, they were doing a sterling job.
He acknowledged that it could not be easy for rangers to live in less than desirable conditions far away from their families and friends, to work at the reserves where they also faced injury or death at the merciless hands of poachers and even the animals themselves.
One of the department’s strategic objectives for the coming year is to be the preferred eco-tourism destination of choice, Sekoati said. “Without the animals and natural resources at the reserves eco-tourism will be drastically affected, this is why the department relies on rangers to preserve these resources and that is why they are given the honour and respect their work commands from them today,” he explained.
The rangers and the reserve managers were presented with tokens of gratitude as they are the unsung heroes and heroines protecting the environmental heritage and whose sacrifices should not go unnoticed. Trees were planted and candles lit in memory of 13 rangers who lost their lives in the line of duty since 2008.
