Community conservation was developed to engage local communities in the management and conservation of their environment. In the South Rift Valley of Kenya, the Maasai people have established several community conservation projects, and are in the process of evaluating management plans to ensure that both people and ecosystems benefit. This blog presents a forum for local and international researchers to discuss their work and seek guidance as we move forward.
Project Personnel: Paul Schuette, Phd Student, Montana State University (supervised by Dr. Scott Creel); Michael Kapoli, Research Assistant, Olkiramatian; & Patrick Moikinyo, Research Assistant, Shompole.
Project Overview: This project examines predator - prey dynamics, human - carnivore conflict, and carnivore community ecology in the southern Rift Valley of Kenya. Research is interested in the relationships between the Maasai people, large predators, and their prey, and how these interactions change in relation to land use strategies, habitat availability, and environmental conditions.
We are collaborating with the Maasai people of Olkiramatian and Shompole Group Ranches, SORALO, the African Conservation Centre, the African Conservation Fund, and fellow researchers to collectively examine the processes regulating this biologically rich and complex ecosystem and identify conservation strategies that benefit people, wildlife, and landscapes.
Research Strategy & Community Involvement:
We have designed a research program to estimate distributions and densities of lions, spotted hyenas, and their prey, livestock, and many smaller carnivore species. Our project will identify behavioral strategies of lions and spotted hyenas that allow coexistence with people across this region of Maasai land, and determine where potential or actual conflict occurs. We are also collecting data on livestock predation and livestock husbandry practices to better understand the circumstances surrounding carnivore conflict. This information will allow our research team and the community to develop management strategies to mitigate conflict between the Maasai and large predators.
The Maasai community plays an integral role in the development and implementation of all research in the southern Rift Valley. Our carnivore research team employs 2 full-time, local research assistants who have an intimate understanding of human-wildlife interactions in Olkiramatian and Shompole. We also work closely with the Resource Assessor program, which consists of 7 Maasai men collecting natural resource data for their community, the community game scouts, and the Kenya Wildlife Service to collectively examine this rich ecosystem. We meet regularly with local leaders and members of the community to incorporate current conservation concerns in our work and maintain open communications between our research team and the community.
SORALO and the African Conservation Centre (ACC) approached the community with ideas for developing community conservation and research projects in the region. The community embraced the shared concern for the environment and wanted to know how they could benefit from the research as well. After a research site was chosen the Olkiramatian Women’s Group was given legal ownership of the land. This way the camping fees collected from researchers and educational groups could be put back into the community through various programs that they are still developing.
The Olkiramatian Women’s Group was established in November 2007 and there are currently 170 members. A chairlady and thirteen committee members have been elected. The women reside in four sub locations of Olkiramatian and committee members are elected from each location. Membership dues are required with registration, which add to the new organization’s accruing revenue. Community Projects:
The women have many areas of interest where they would like to use the profits from the Resource Centre. They would like to establish a place where they can do beadwork and sell beadwork to national and international research groups. The centre has already hosted groups from Earthwatch and Earth Expeditions. They would also like to set up bursaries for girls in the community and see the Resource Centre develop into a meeting ground and educational centre for the whole community. SORALO and ACC are actively helping them with the development of the land and they are now seeking support from outside the community with regards to training in business management.
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