As one of the major MMNR benefit sharing
mechanisms, the Narok and Trans Mara County
Councils
presently distribute 19 percent of MMNR entry fee
collections to surrounding communities under a
revenue
sharing programme. The initial geographic scope of
this programme was defined by the range of the
annual
large mammal migrations, which essentially
restricted payments to the eight group ranches that
originally
surrounded the Reserve. Eligibility to the scheme
was however expanded in recent years to include all
wards
in the districts that are not practicing
large-scale wheat farming (in line with the recommendations in
the
Ministries of Local Government and Tourism &
Wildlife “Masai Mara Task
Force”31).
Although 19 percent of entrance fees represents a
significant proportion of the revenues generated by
the
MMNR, both the geographic scope of the revenue
sharing programme and the mechanisms used to
distribute
the funds have been criticised by many community
members, especially those residing in areas close
to
the Reserve where the costs of conservation
through wildlife-human conflicts are highest. As a result,
many
community members feel that the revenue sharing
programme is not achieving its desired goal of
improving
community livelihoods and increasing community
support for the MMNR, and that the programme
needs
to be restructured, in particular with regard the
amount of funds distributed, its geographical scope, and
the
process used to distribute funds to address
community needs. In this regard, the MMNR Community
Working
Group proposed that ward-level committees should
be established to oversee the disbursement of
funds,
possibly linked with existing committees such as
Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan
(LASDAP)
or Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF), and that
these mechanisms should include provisions to
ensure
accountable, transparent management of projects
funded from MMNR revenue sharing.
31 Report on the Management of
National/Game Reserves under the Mandate of Local Authorities.
Ministry of Local Government and
Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife, April
2005.
This action addresses this concern expressed by
the community, by undertaking a study of the
performance
of the revenue sharing programme over the past
five years, with particular attention to the aspects
detailed
above – i.e. amount of funds invested,
programme scope, and mechanisms for addressing priority
community
needs. Because such a study is outside of the
mandate of MMNR managers, it will be commissioned
by
the two concerned county councils in close
association with the responsible section in the Ministry of
Local
Government, for implementation by an independent
evaluator. The recommendations emerging from
this
evaluation will be subsequently implemented by the
two county councils, subject to the endorsement
and
approval of the councils and the Ministry of Local
Government. The overall aim should be to revise
the
revenue sharing programme as appropriate to ensure
that it is fully appreciated by the community,
and
makes a substantial contribution towards the
overall purpose of this Programme – i.e. developing
strong
community support for and pride in the
MMNR.
