The Maasai Mara ecosystem is one of the world’s most important conservation landscapes. It is also home to the Maasai people whose pastoralist traditions have allowed wildlife to coexist with humans and livestock for centuries. Today, this ecosystem is severely threatened by expanding agricultural production; by subdivision and fencing; and by increasingly unpredictable climate patterns. A key solution is the development of wildlife conservancies.
Conservancies consist of hundreds of individually owned parcels of land pooled together and leased out to tourism operators. Landowners receive direct payments for renting their land while retaining the right to graze their livestock. As such, conservancies provide a unique platform for unlocking economic value for local communities. Likewise, conservancies offer tremendous hope for maintaining and restoring critical habitat outside of national protected areas, many of which are simply too small or isolated to provide a sustainable future for wildlife.
The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association is the umbrella organization for the Mara’s 15 wildlife conservancies and an important recipient of BAND Foundation support.