As discussed previously, the MMNR falls under the
jurisdiction of both the County Councils of Narok
and
Trans Mara. However, most councillors are based in
urban areas, and often in major towns, such as
Kilgoris
and Narok. As a result, very few members of either
council have the opportunity to visit the Reserve,
and
they may therefore be largely unaware of the
difficulties of operating in a logistically challenging and
isolated
environment, and of the scale and intensity of the
threats impacting on the area. In order to address
these
issues, and to help create a more accurate
understanding of the challenges and issues that managers of
the
MMNR are facing, MMNR management will organise
familiarisation visits for members of the District
Development
Committees from both councils. Although these
should ideally be joint visits, due to the
logistical
difficulties of organising such visits,
independent visits by each council may be more feasible. These
visits will
take place every other year, and will aim to not
only demonstrate recent progress and improvements
made
in the area’s management, but also to
highlight pressing problems and key areas where resources or
support
from the councils are most
needed.
