Prince William praises guardians of the natural world in new docuseries highlighting work of rangers
The Prince of Wales has praised the 'unsung heroes' of the natural world in a new docuseries which highlights the work of rangers.
The six-part series, 'Guardians', aims to redefine public understanding of rangers and the work they do to protect the environment.
The 6-10 minute episodes will be released weekly on BBC Earth's YouTube and social channels – with the first launching online on Friday, May 23.
Prince William, who has spearheaded the project, said: 'It started as a seed of an idea about 18 months ago and it came about from wanting to educate, showcase, highlight, spotlight the brilliant people – men and women – who are at the forefront and the frontline of conservation around the world.'
The Prince, who has seen first-hand the work of rangers, has voiced the trailer for the series and the introduction to each episode.
The series showcases the work of rangers across the world in a bid to 'understand and recognise Nature's Guardians' and the varied roles they play in protecting the environment.
William made a surprise appearance at the press launch earlier this week. He watched as the first three episodes were screened and then joined a panel discussion with Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC's Springwatch.
During the discussion, he said: 'I have been dying to do something around this sort of space for a while. What really struck me about doing some of the research on this was that this is now one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet and really is shouldn't be, we are protecting the natural world.
'1,400 Rangers have died in the last 10 years – that's about two a week. They are unseen and unheard of and so many of these cases get forgotten about, don't get reported, people don't see them. We don't feel it back here. We all care about our natural world, back here, but sometimes we lose that connection with actually what it's like living and working in that space.'
The series is filmed in locations across the world including the Himalayas in India, Mexico's Sea of Cortez and Kruger National Park in South Africa.
The first episode follows the work of a reformed poacher who now dedicates his life to protecting wildlife in the Dzangha-Sangha area in the Central African Republic.
William said: 'Another reason to do this series was about valuing what Rangers do. It was very important to me that the guys and girls felt like the rest of the world understood what they did and they valued their work.'
United for Wildlife, founded by Prince William and the Royal Foundation, announced in November that it had committed to a five-year financial package for rangers.
It is set to provide 10,000 rangers across Africa with access to appropriate, affordable in-service and medical evacuation insurance cover.
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