LESSON 12 OUTLINE

Protecting the Serengeti: The Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park was established by British authorities in 1951. The tsetse fly was present in the northern woodlands of the Serengeti, and, as it carries sleeping sickness, it provided a natural way of keeping human beings and livestock out of the area. In the late 1950s, the colonial governments started aggressive campaigns against the tsetse, using both traps and insecticides. The Maasai population grew, and they destroyed tsetse-infested bush by setting fires. Consequently, the cattle population grew, too.

In 1956, the Tanganyika legislature considered turning over the central plain of the Serengeti to the Maasai, which would have reduced the size of the park to under 2,000 square miles. The Maasai had been grazing their cattle there and on the floor of Ngorongoro Crater since the 1940s as the human population in the area grew. In 1959, the government created the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), which added the northern plains to Serengeti National Park and declared the crater a nature sanctuary where no cattle could graze. A conservation area was established around the rim of the crater to compensate the Maasai for the lost land. The NCA was unique in its effort to sustain both wildlife and pastoralists. The harmonious coexistence of people, livestock and wild animals has not been achieved, and many feel the rights and needs of the local Maasai community are often ignored.

Initially, the NCA allowed for multiple land uses, including animal husbandry, agriculture, roads, schools, and even health clinics. At first the Maasai grazed their cattle on the short-grass plains at the base of Ngorongoro. As the herds grew, however, parts of the range deteriorated and the Maasai began bringing their herds into the craters, leading to conflict with conservation authorities. In 1975, the Tanzania government banned all agriculture throughout Ngorongoro. By 1980, the Maasai controlled only half of the original Maasailand. With little land legally available, the Maasai often resorted to illegal cultivation of maize flour and were often forced to sell some of their cattle for grain. It is difficult to transport grain into the NCA along Tanzania's roads, because of potholes large enough to swallow trucks. The Maasai are having increasingly difficulty supporting themselves by herding.

The Kenyan government has made efforts since 1977 to reconcile wildlife conservation with the welfare of the Maasai and other native groups. Maasai communities can now claim fees when wild animals graze on their land, and for supporting the tourist trade in a variety of ways. They are also being encouraged to set up their own business to help them profit from tourists. While a few Maasai benefit from the tourist trade, however, the majority do not.

Richard Leakey was director of the Kenya Wildlife Service from 1989 until 1994. Leakey was an outspoken advocate of wildlife conservation who sometimes alienated the Maasai and other local Kenyans. He helped to gain support for the international ivory ban in 1989. However, as elephant poaching declined, Maasai crops were ravaged. Many cattle were killed, and dozens of tribesmen were trampled to death by elephants. Leakey resigned in 1994 under pressure from both Maasai and Kenyan political leaders. Since 1961, there has been a 400 percent increase in the wildebeest population of the Serengeti Plains. This population increase obviously has an impact on the vegetation available for herds and other wildlife both within and outside the parks. In some places fences have been built to protect crops and livestock from damage by elephants, buffalo, and other wildlife.