SCRA Peti SC titi tion and and Surv Survey 201 2018 In February 2018 SCRA presented a petition to the Scottish Parliament. Petition urged the Government to instruct the implementation of a strategic framework for the network of Countryside Ranger Services as first set out in the 2008 document, “Rangers in Scotland”, produced by Scottish Natural Heritage. To better inform the petition , SCRA undertook a survey of all Ranger Services across Scotland, to assess their current status and gather the following information: - How many Rangers are currently employed in Scotland? How many Ranger posts, at different grades, have been lost since 2008? What have Rangers across Scotland delivered in their key duties of connecting people and nature?
Sur urvey Res esult lts • How many Rangers are currently employed in Scotland? • 269 full time Ranger posts. • 64 employers. • 54 are based in Scotland’s two National Parks.
Ho How many Ranger pos osts, at t dif ifferent gr grades, have been los lost sin ince 2008? • 141 Ranger posts have been lost since 2008! • 38% of the total.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. • Extinct – No known living individuals. • Extinct in the wild – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range. • Critically endangered – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. • Endangered – High risk of extinction in the wild. • Vulnerable – High risk of endangerment in the wild. • Near threatened – Likely to become endangered in the near future. • Least concern – Lowest risk; does not qualify for a higher risk category. • Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction. • Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria. A vulnerable species is one which is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.
SOME POSITIVE NEWS
What have Rangers across Scotland delivered in their key duties of connecting people and nature?
SCR CRA PETITION PE1678 Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to implement the strategic framework for the network of Countryside Ranger Services set out in the document Rangers in Scotland (SNH 2008). 26 th September 2019
Key topics discussed on 26 th September at Holyrood. • Recognition that Ranger Services in National Park’s are an important part of the delivery of National Parks. • The role rangers play in delivering health and wellbeing and delivering outdoor learning. • Feeling that local authorities don’t value their ranger services so need to raise their profile. • Talk about charging for events and activities and the risk to delivering important social and inclusion functions. • Need to recognise that other staff do deliver ranger type functions but there is still a need to protect the profession and its identity. • Refers to Glover Report. • Rangers seen as important way that visitor pressures are managed on sensitive sites. • SNH are not doing enough at a national level to link work of ranger services to key national outcomes on people and nature. • Strong recognition that rangering plays a key role in delivering key Scottish Government priorities.
Progress? • The Ranger Development Partnership has been re-established. • The 2008 Rangers in Scotland document is being updated. • SCRA pushing for an independent working group set up by The Scottish Government to investigate all the issues associated with rangering into the future.
• What else have we been up to? • Fundraising for a Ranger from Malawi to attend the IRF Congress in Nepal. • Now registered partner for the Erasmus+ programme so that all members can take part in the study tours. • Produced an issue of our members magazine SCRAMBLE on the theme of connecting people with nature • 2 Members attended the national meeting Portuguese Rangers in the Azores. • Continuing to develop the Scottish Ranger Award program. With 16 rangers currently signed up, with two recent completions and two new candidates signed up.
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