I spent a couple of days in the Masai Mara last week. A hard life, I know. It was work, though, not holiday.
One of the major side effects of Kenya's post-election violence has been the massive drop in tourists. Despite the vast majority of the violence taking place in parts of Kenya well off the tourism path, potential holiday makers were unsurprisingly put off by images of machete-wielding mobs.
Long-term political problems remain, but the country is safe for tourists and has been for a good couple of months. This doesn't mean people are returning though. Far from it.
In the Mara, one of the world's most spectacular game reserves, occupancy levels at many of the lodges are at lower than 10 per cent. Granted, this is the low season. But there are low seasons and then there are low seasons.
The western part of the Mara (known as the Mara Triangle) is managed by the Mara Conservancy,
a
non-profit organisation. The Conservancy had introduced an innovative
cattle compensation scheme for the local masai herders, paying them the
market rate whenever a cow, goat or sheep was eaten by one of the
Mara's many predators.
Previously, the masai had killed any lion or leopard that ate their animals. The programme has been a big success. In the last few years the number of lions in this part of the reserve has doubled to around 40.
The Conservancy also employs a team of rangers who patrol the reserve for poachers and cattle rustlers. But without tourists there is no money. One third of the gate receipts for entering the Mara go direct to the Conservancy. Without this money they cannot afford the compensation scheme and patrols have been cut back.
Some Masai I spoke to said they had little choice but to kill the lions and leopards before they wiped out their cattle. If the compensation scheme isn't started up again soon, the Mara is in danger of losing one of its main attractions. It will then matter little whether tourists feel it is safe enough to return to Kenya or not - what is the point of going to the Mara, they may ask, if there are no lions?
In an effort to raise funds the Conservancy has turned to the web. The group's head of tourism, Joseph Kimojino now spends most of his day writing a lively blog and updating his Flickr site. Both the blog and the Flickr site implore its readers and viewers to donate funds.
As I left, Kimojino asked me to do the same on mine. Happy to oblige... Here's the link to Kimojino's blog.
(Photos: Mara Triangle)
Comments