Rangers Bill Gets Initial Nod

The bill to support park rangers drafted by the Department of Environment in July 2016 has been approved by the Majlis Health Commission in a Sunday session.
Under the bill, park rangers would be equipped with weapons to protect their lives when faced with armed offenders, Ahmad Hemmati, the commission's spokesperson said at the meeting. 
This means that if the government concludes that a park ranger involved in a conflict had abided by the law, it would bear the financial costs incurred by the ranger, from legal fees to possible compensation demanded by the family of a poacher because of bodily harm or loss of life, ISNA reported.
The bill also states that the Expediency Council's directive on government-sponsored insurance schemes such as liability or medical insurance should apply to park rangers and their families. Since the murder of three park rangers in two separate incidents in one week in June 2016, environment officials and activists have gone to great lengths to provide better legal protection to park rangers.