Feature: Conservation's quiet heroes in Namibia

Jan Tsumib, who has been a park ranger for over 30 years in Namibia, related a story where a colleague of his was almost trampled by an elephant while on duty.

The country has over 700 park rangers, who play a vital role in the tourism economy. These are the men and women who protect all aspects of the country's national parks, which in turn generate massive revenue.

According to a study done by Ministry of Environment and Tourism's Strengthening Protected Area Network, the aggregate expenditure made by tourists, who visit parks, result in an estimated annual direct contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) of up to 1,103 million Namibian dollars (70.7 million U.S. dollars), or 3.4 percent of GDP.

Park rangers are critical to this revenue generation, as they are responsible for protecting State and national parks, as well as the natural resources, ecosystems and wildlife within them, and the tourists. However, their contribution is mostly overlooked.

Namibia has 42 percent of its land set aside for some form of conservation and land management programs.

The national protected area network of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism covers 140,394 square km or 17 percent of the country's land size, making Namibia a leading global conservation and wildlife destination.

But relative to the amount of land to be covered and monitored by park rangers, there aren't enough of workers employed to do the job, and rangers have to cope with insufficient equipment and vehicles.

A community ranger at Kolambala conservancy who refused to be named out of fear of being victimized said that they work under very harsh conditions.

He said that they do not have enough camping materials, and that they have to buy their own tents and binoculars from the little salary that they receive.

"It is very difficult to cope without tents especially in this rainy season," the ranger said.

Rangers mostly get 1,000 Namibian dollars (64 U.S. dollars) every month, a sum that is not enough especially with the high cost of living. He added that the biggest challenge is the lack of firearms while they also have a shortage of uniforms and transport.

"Poachers going into the bush without firearms is very dangerous because you might have to protect yourself," he said.

The areas, in which park rangers work, are home to a variety of wildlife. There may be predators, such as lions and leopards, which the rangers encounter while patrolling or performing other duties.

Rangers must sometimes assist ill or injured animals, and even animals that are normally peaceful can pose a risk when they are in pain as a ranger tries to treat or rescue them.

Meanwhile, Namibian parks are known for their vastness, and visitors sometimes lose their way or sustain injuries that immobilise them.

It is the responsibility of the ranger to find missing people and bring them back, and to coordinate rescue efforts, such as a helicopter evacuations.

But sometimes the lost person may have strayed from a trail or disregarded posted warnings about closed roads, causing the rangers to search in rugged terrain to find them.

This potentially places the ranger at risk of falls and possible encounters with snakes or other dangerous animals.

Tsumib said that having academic qualifications is not enough to become a ranger, as one needs knowledge and passion for the bush.

"The knowledge and experience that these rangers have is not something that one can get from a book, but is something that one gets from experience," he said.

"Rangers must be prepared for any situation. You go into the field knowing that this might be your last day, but we do it anyway," Jan Tsumib said. Endit