By: Diah R. Sulistiowati

Thank you, rangers! On World Ranger Day, which falls today, July 31, 2015, we should say thank you! Thanks to forest rangers, we can still enjoy clean water, the air we breathe everyday, as well as sources of food and medicine. ""Rangers"" or forest rangers are key in maintaining the integrity of the forest.

Forest rangers represent the government in managing forests directly in the field; if managers are not present, it is easy to seize State forests. As a result, many state lands are used illegally. Take Tesso Nilo National Park as an example. Currently only 30% of the original 83,000 hectares remain - the rest is planted with oil palm. Unfortunately, their heavy work is not supported by adequate facilities, appreciation, or training. In fact, they are the spearhead in dealing with armed poachers.

Indonesia's forest area is recorded at 162 million hectares. The largest forest land is in Papua (32.36 million hectares). This is followed by Kalimantan (28.23 million hectares), Sumatra (14.65 million hectares), Sulawesi (8.87 million hectares), Maluku and North Maluku (4.02 million hectares), Java (3.09 million hectares), and Bali and Nusa Tenggara (2.7 million hectares) (Source: Kompas, 2015). Unfortunately, 72% of Indonesia's original forests have been destroyed. As a result, Indonesia's forest area over the past 50 years has decreased from 162 million hectares to 98 million hectares (Source: Guinness Book of Record).

You can imagine that 162 million hectares of forest are guarded by only 8,000 forest rangers (polhut), or an average of 15,000 hectares of forest guarded by one polhut with minimal equipment. Under ideal conditions, eight forest rangers guard 10,000 hectares of forest.

There is another way that might reduce or alleviate forest guarding, namely by inviting local communities to help guard the forest. They can be assigned after they have received adequate training and equipment, know the numbers to call in case of emergencies (such as illegal logging or poaching), and have cooperated with non-governmental organizations that have forest protection programs.

On this World Ranger Day, we should thank the forest rangers who have been working to maintain the integrity of our forests. Rangers take care of the forest, the forest takes care of human life. Happy World Ranger Day!