Park rangers do not get much sleep.
No one knows this better than Alain Medina, 34 years old, father of two children, who became a park ranger at the Tariquia National Flora and Fauna Reserve for SERNAP – the National Service of Protected Areas in Bolivia – four years ago.
“Many times, we see the dawn before sunrise, without sleeping at all. We see the day end without having eaten, patrolling and monitoring unscrupulous people looking to illegally fish or extract wood.”
Alain is one of 340 park rangers working for SERNAP, the custodian of Bolivia’s national protected areas, assigned to guard 23 areas sprawling across 17.1 million hectares. The rangers must protect these areas – rich with biodiversity, flora and fauna species and unique ecosystems - with little equipment, sometimes in harsh conditions.
“On several occasions, we have worked in very difficult conditions,” Alain says. “[At times], we are practically hidden in the middle of the mountains, camouflaged in the landscape without making any noise. Sometimes, when they [the offenders] realize our presence, they start running into the mountains and other times, they send people ahead to warn them of our presence.
There are also people who become aggressive towards us, thinking that we are cruel to them, but they do not realize that it is part of our job.”
Protecting the environment while fighting corruption
Misappropriation of funds, exploitation of natural resources and illicit activities undermine conservation efforts, jeopardizing environmental preservation.
“Since I was little, I’ve always had a passion for helping others,” Alain shares. “Corruption is not within my values. My father, may he rest in peace, always taught me the value of good work and the greatest satisfaction that this gives me is to be able to sleep with a clear conscience.
“It all started with a boy scout group as a volunteer. After that, I joined the search and rescue group Sar del Sur, where I continued training as a forest firefighter until I became a first responder."
This experience marked his vision of the importance of helping those in need, a lesson he carries with him in every step he takes.
Alain has also experienced corruption in his daily work. He has seen how people, protected by their position of authority or family connections, feel entitled to commit illicit acts.
“Even after being exposed, they often receive favourable treatment, such as low fines or wrongful acquittals, and even get positions thanks to political favours, not for professional merit,” he says.
Despite these adversities, Alain is proud to be part of an internal awareness campaign with his fellow park rangers about the importance of their work in environmental conservation. Together, they seek to convey these values to future generations, in the hope that integrity becomes a solid foundation for preservation and conservation actions in protected areas.
For Alain, his job goes beyond a contract and a salary. “This job is a personal commitment,” he says. Finding joy in what he does is the key for him to feel satisfied at the end of the day.
"I always try to help the people around me. To motivate them to work in this way, we must teach good things.
“Let’s start at home, teaching the values to our family, then let’s do it in our work, with friends and wherever we can in order to start a movement of people with a passion for protecting the environment.”
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We got to know Alain’s story thanks to the "Conserving with Principles" essay contest, part of the corruption risk management process being implemented by the National Service of Protected Areas of Bolivia (SERNAP) with the support of the UNODC Office in Bolivia and the Anti-Corruption Hub for South America. The winning park rangers of the Protected Areas of Bolivia received photo cameras and equipment from UNODC and SERNAP that will help them to protect Bolivia’s national parks.
