HISTORY AND AIMS
The International Ranger Federation(IRF)was
founded in 1992 with a signed agreement between the Countryside
Management Association (CMA), representing rangers in England
and Wales; the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association (SCRA);
and the U.S.Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR).
The goals of this agreement are
to provide a forum for rangers from around the world to share
their successes and failures in protecting the world's heritage
and to promote information and technology transfer from countries
in which protected area management enjoys broad public and
government support to countries in which protected area management
is less well supported.
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Rangers from any country can join the IRF. The
only requirements are that they have an association
of protected area professionals and that they
petition the IRF for affiliation. In other words,
the IRF is a federation of associations, not an
association of individual members.
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56 associations from national, state and territorial entities have affiliated with the IRF. Additionally, rangers from other countries have applied for provisional membership in IRF while they attempt to establish ranger associations in their countries.
To achieve our goal of providing a forum for communications among protected area professionals, the IRF has sponsored six international congresses. The first was held in Zakopane, Poland in 1995 and was followed by further congresses in San Jose, Costa Rica in 1997, Kruger National Park, South Africa in 2000, Wilsons Prom NP, Australia in March 2003, Stirling, Scotland in June 2006, and La Paz, Bolivia in November 2009. The 7th World Ranger Congress will be held in Arusha, Tanzania 4 - 9 November 2012. All the Congress details are available here. Previous Congress proceedings are available by going to the CONGRESS section of this site. |
AIMS OF THE IRF
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To further the professional
standards of rangers throughout the world |
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To advance the aims of
the I.U.C.N1s World Conservation Strategy |
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To share knowledge and
resources |
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To establish global communications
with ranger organizations |
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To foster professional
exchanges between rangers |
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To arrange regular international
meetings, including a World Congress every
3 years |
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To undertake joint activities
to directly support each other1s operations
where necessary and feasible |
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To represent rangers
interests through close co-operation with
other international organizations |
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IRF Foundation Documents
- Zakopane Declaration accepted at the first World Ranger Congress held in Poland in 1995. A Spanish version is also available.
See World Congress Reports for subsequent declarations.
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