Help send Rangers to the Nepal World Ranger Congress

Thanks for supporting PAWA's efforts to sponsor Rangers from PAWA's partnership projects in Australia and around the world to attend the 9th World Ranger Congress in Nepal in 2019. Your donation will be tax deductible as the Thin Green Line is a registered charity.

Australian Rangers and other protected area workers are fundraising to sponsor a group of Indigenous Rangers to attend an international conference, the International Ranger Federation World Ranger Congress which will be held in Nepal in November 2019.

This is an amazing capacity-building opportunity for Rangers to network with and learn from Rangers from around the world. It is also an opportunity for Rangers to tell some of their stories and share their culture with the global Ranger community, and invite international Rangers to visit their region.

The Thin Green Line is the charity arm of the International Ranger Federation, of which PAWA is a member. It is the support of our Thin Green Line community that ensures we can make a real difference to stopping wildlife crime by supporting Rangers on the frontline of conservation. Check out the Thin Green Line's website https://thingreenline.org.au/ for more details of the amazing work they do to Protect the Protectors around the world.

Your contribution to this campaign will help these hard working Rangers travel to and attend the World Ranger Congress in Nepal, as well as attending training courses offered before and after the Congress. You will be our hero!!

Please help us by sharing this campaign!!

BACKGROUND

PAWA (Protected Area Workers Association) is an International Ranger Federation member group for protected area workers in NSW and the ACT. Most members of PAWA are employees of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), ACT and Federal National Parks. The association works with its members to
• support protected area workers from developing countries in providing resources,
• provide professional advice to the NPWS in key protected area management program areas,
• support professional exchange and training opportunities, and
• network with other protected are management professional associations Australia wide and internationally.

The 9th International Ranger Federation World Ranger Congress will be held 11-17 November 2019 in Nepal. The International Ranger Federation is made up of member associations from various countries from around the world.

A previous World Ranger Congress was hosted by Parks Victoria and held at Wilsons Promontory in 2003. PAWA was formed in 2007, inspired by the stories, collaboration and networking capacity of rangers and park managers from around the world. World Ranger Congresses are held every three years.

Since 2007 PAWA has initiated projects such as Equip the Amazon, Equip Tanzania and Equip Cambodia, collecting and distributing field equipment (tents, boots, backpacks, raincoats, fire PPE, GPS units) to underfunded ranger groups in biodiversity hotspots. PAWA has also received corporate sponsorship from NSW NPWS and raised funds to assist other rangers with equipment purchases, training and capacity building.

PAWA has assisted Rangers to attend World Ranger Congresses and hosted Rangers from developing countries at the 2014 World Parks Congress in Sydney.

PAWA sponsored Mark Flanders, Gumbaynggirr Elder and NPWS Discovery Ranger Coffs Coast Area to attend the 2016 WRC in Colorado USA. Uncle Mark is now a member of the PAWA Executive Committee.

PAWA members have hosted International Rangers from Argentina, Norway, Kenya, The French Caribbean, Austria, Croatia and Tanzania to visit NSW National Parks and Marine Parks. PAWA has assisted rangers in Brazil, Peru and the Solomon Islands to form Ranger Associations and to run training courses.

The Ninth World Ranger Congress is being hosted by the Nepal Ranger Association and PAWA is playing a key role assisting with the planning and implementation of the Congress, organising pre and post Congress training programmes, and raising funds to help send Rangers from the Oceania Region (including Australia) and from some of our partnership programmes in South America and South East Asia to the Congress.

Learn more about who PAWA is, what we do and how to become a member at https://protectedareaworkers.org