About the Wildlife Ranger Challenge: 

COVID-19 has brought tourism revenue to a halt across Africa, threatening the important work and livelihoods of the rangers who protect iconic African wildlife such as elephants, pangolins, rhinos, lions, and more. Ranger teams are now uniting around the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a running race with one goal: to raise money to support thousands of their fellow rangers. Now is the time to go the extra mile—it’s time to race to support our rangers. Every dollar donated will be matched by the Scheinberg Relief Fund, doubling your generous contribution.

Your donation will help 14 rangers and an estimated 70 livelihoods in and around Mahajeby Forests and Wetlands in Madagascar. 

The role of rangers:

The Mahajeby Forests and Wetlands contain an incredible amount of biodiversity, including multiple species of lemurs, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, and endemic flora. Many of these species are seriously threatened with extinction, including the critically endangered crowned sifaka  and the critically endangered Madagascar big-headed turtle.

Rangers are community members who tirelessly patrol the forests and wetlands to make sure that these species are protected and that natural resources are not being overexploited or destroyed. These rangers are out in the field day and night, protecting the plants and animals that cannot protect themselves, taking a stand for the voiceless, and making sure these unique species can survive into the future.

How your donation will help:

Funding for rangers would help bring all patrollers and forest guards back to their work, including running joint patrols with the government and police. In some sites where threats increase, reinforcing the patrols would be crucial. Having enough funds will affect our ability to continue conservation and community development activities. This situation is an emergency because this proposed project area is among the rarest and most important habitats in the western part of Madagascar—it helps maintain water sources for the country, as well as being home to vital populations of critically endangered species.

Effects of the pandemic:

With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the role that rangers play is more important than ever. This pandemic has seriously affected the economy and the people of Madagascar, especially in rural areas such as Mahajeby where the communities rely heavily or exclusively on tourism or conservation programs for their revenues. This loss of income has led to a rise in the exploitation of natural resources and illegal wildlife activities in the area. 

Due to budget cuts, we have had to reduce the number of patrol days by 40%, now having only 15 per month. In light of the rapid increase in threats, the patrols should have been doubled during this period of crisis, but our funds do not allow for that. This leaves these habitats and the critically endangered species within them unprotected.

-----------------

Tusk is registered with JustGiving in the UK (or GoFundMe.com in the USA). Our online fundraising sites allow you to create a sponsorship form with easy access for your supporters, knowing their money is going directly to Tusk. UK tax-paying donors can enhance their contribution by agreeing to Gift Aid their sponsorship (for every £10 you raise, Tusk will receive another £2.50 from the Government provided you are a UK taxpayer). US supporters wishing to make a tax deductible donation can do so via GoFundMe.com.