WWF-Kenya & KWCA Launch Initiative to Empower Female Community Rangers

NAIROBI, Kenya (Monday, 28 April 2025) — WWF–Kenya and Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) on Monday celebrated World Day for Safety and Health at Work, calling on all stakeholders to support an inclusive ranger workforce. 

This is in response to the findings of the latest Kenya Community Ranger Perception Survey 2024 that revealed challenges that community rangers face in Kenya. The top three challenges were identified as lack of access to professional training, lack of suitable equipment, and inconsistent working conditions. 

Mohamed Awer, Chief Executive Officer, WWF–Kenya, called for the increased representation of women in the ranger workforce from 6% to at least a third of the community rangers in line with the 2010 constitutional requirements. He also urged stakeholders to support initiatives to improve their welfare and working conditions. 

Women bring valuable and diverse skills, perspectives and approaches that enrich the ranger workforce, leading to more successful outcomes for people and wildlife. WWF-Kenya and KWCA aim to catalyse meaningful dialogue around gender inclusivity in conservation and foster an environment where all rangers can contribute to protecting nature, supporting community well-being, and advancing local economies.

Linet Misiko, Chief Operating Officer, KWCA, said: “There is a critical need to invest in the upskilling and training of community wildlife rangers. The cost of proper training is costly for many emerging conservancies. Therefore, many rangers are deployed with limited professional training, leaving them underprepared to effectively handle the complex challenges they face on the ground.”

For more information, please contact:
Faith Jelagat – Regional Programmes Communications Assistant
Email: fjelagat@wwfkenya.org | Tel: +254 112 834 950

About WWF-Kenya 

World Wide Fund for Nature Kenya (WWF-Kenya) is a locally registered non-governmental conservation organization; an affiliate of WWF International. WWF has been working in Kenya since 1962 alongside the government, civil society, private sector organizations, and local communities to contribute towards providing an enabling environment for the achievement of a healthy natural environment supporting people and sustainable development in Kenya.

About KWCA 

Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) is a national representative and independent body for conservancies in the country. KWCA’s members and primary beneficiaries are community and private conservancies that make up our membership. It is their voice and interests we listen to and serve. KWCA is mandated to advocate for favourable policies and incentives at national and landscape levels to advance the conservancy network. It is a membership-based organisation driven by the grassroots and uniquely positioned to collectively represent the conservancy network’s issues.