Plans for Park Rangers in Panama

Park rangers are essential for the management and surveillance of the 121 protected areas that exist in the country and those that emerge in the future. MiAmbiente believes it is important to lay out the paths for their professionalization.

According to the entity, the Vice Minister of Environment, Oscar Vallarino, met with the Protected Areas and Biodiversity working team and the Association of Park Rangers of Panama, where they discussed important issues to strengthen the work they do in protected areas.

The topics discussed included the professionalization of this work, modernization in training and improvements in infrastructure to guarantee decent working conditions.

Luis Carles, coordinator of the National System of Protected Areas (Sinap), mentioned the achievements of the current administration, including the graduation of 90 park rangers in 2024, at the newly formed Park Ranger School of the Ministry of the Environment, courses that are endorsed by the National Institute for Vocational Training and Capacity Building for Human Development (Inadeh). In addition, he announced that by 2025, the graduation of 180 new members of this important force is scheduled to help in the care and conservation of our natural resources, which represents significant progress in strengthening the protection of nature.

MiAmbiente currently has 361 active park rangers, out of the 241 with which the current administration began.

“A crucial issue at the meeting was the need to establish the career of park rangers as a formal profession in Panama, a request that was assumed by Vice Minister Vallarino as a commitment to lead joint efforts with the University of Panama, the Smithsonian Institute and the National Association of Park Rangers of Panama, to develop an academic plan that allows the preparation and professional certification of park rangers in the short term,” the statement highlights.

Likewise, MiAmbiente is also carrying out a program to renovate facilities in national parks, with an investment of approximately 8 million dollars. This effort seeks to ensure that park rangers have adequate spaces to carry out their protection and surveillance work.