Poaching increased dramatically in South Africa starting in 2008, hitting a high point in 2014 with over 1,200 rhinos killed. Poaching organizations became more complex both in terms of strategy and technology, enabling them to harvest more rhino horn than ever before. South Africa turned to militarizing conservation in an effort to protect the species.

The militarization of conservation is credited, by some, for slowing the current poaching crisis in Africa. Rangers are being trained and equipped to fight fire with fire. If someone is attempting to poach rhino, they are risking their life. The risks certainly are greater today for poachers than in the past when fines and possible jail time were the biggest worries.

Military style approaches to fighting poaching include counterinsurgency strategies, use and application of military technologies, and the development of intricate informant communities. Improved intelligence is thought to be crucial for stopping not just rhino poaching but potential violent encounters putting rangers’ lives in jeopardy.

There are a lot of brave men and women currently risking their lives for the survival of wildlife species. What they’re doing is viewed as a necessary evil, poaching hit crisis levels and extreme actions are needed now to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, their work may not fit with long-term conservation efforts and could have been avoided with stronger government policies.

Setting up military style bases and infrastructure can negatively effect the habitat of the area conservation is trying to protect. Everything from permanent buildings to clear-cut roads eliminate previously untouched ecosystems and increase illegal activities. For instance, logging increased dramatically in South America once roads were paved for commercial vehicles. Farmers also took advantage of the man-made arteries and expanded their agricultural practices beyond where they could previously reach.

Money is always lacking in conservation, especially in African nations where large percentages of the human population live in poverty. Militarizing conservation officers takes a large chunk of the overall wildlife conservation budget. The technology borrowed from military practices is expensive and doesn’t always fit the needs of conservation. Money is wasted buying the latest and greatest weapons and systems when it would have been better spent going directly into traditional conservation efforts.

Time is also a resource spread thin. Rangers in Kruger spend an estimated 90% of their time tracking poachers and shutting down illegal trafficking instead of focusing on monitoring the health of wildlife and ecosystem through basic ecological assessments. It’s argued rangers in the area are being pushed to learn and apply paramilitary techniques instead of taking a holistic approach to conservation.