The Masai Mara National Reserve is the keystone of
the Greater Mara Serengeti Ecosystem, a safe haven for the great
migration, a powerhouse of sustainable economic benefits, and a
living testimony to the Maasai community’s conservation
ideals and affinity with wildlife. This purpose is further
elaborated in the individual programme purpose statements which are
provided at the beginning of each of the four management
programmes. The Masai Mara National Reserve was first established
in 1948, when the Mara Triangle, a 520 square kilometre area
between the Siria escarpment, the Tanzanian border and the Mara
River, was declared a National Game
Reserve.
As its name suggests, the Masai Mara
National Reserve is therefore unique amongst Kenya’s
protected areas in its role as a cultural and natural heritage of
the Maasai. The purpose that the MMNR serves is not simply to
provide a sanctuary for wildlife and revenue generation through
tourism, but also as a living and vivid testimony to the
Maasai’s traditional conservation-compatible and wildlife
tolerant pastoralist livelihood. Since the Maasai
communities’ traditional land use practices are responsible
for the preservation of the Reserve’s exceptional natural
resources in the first place, it is also important that the
benefits that are now being derived from these resources are first
and foremost channelled back to these
communities.
Around the time of Kenya's independence, the
Sanctuary became a “Game Reserve” and was expanded to
cover the eastern portion as well. At this time, the land was
brought under control of the Narok County Council (NCC). In 1974,
the status changed from Game Reserve to National Reserve (Walpole
et al. 2003:x). While Kenyan National Parks are managed by the
central government, all National Reserves are held in trust, and
managed, by County Councils .Following the status change, a few
major grazing areas were removed from the reserve and attached to
existing group ranches. This action reduced the overall area of
MMNR and allowed Maasai to continue using areas that their cattle
had grazed in recent years (Lamprey and Reid 2004). More recently,
part of NCC was separated to become the TransMara County Council
(TMCC). TMCC then took control of the western Mara Triangle which
was under its jurisdiction. TMCC has granted management of the
Triangle to the Mara Conservancy, a non-profit organization
(Walpole et al. 2003), while NCC continues to manage the eastern
two-thirds of the Reserve by itself to encompass an area of 1,831
square kilometres.
In 1984, parts of Reserve were excised to provide
access to watering points for livestock, and the Reserve was
brought to its present size of 1,530 square kilometres, as shown in
Figure 2 opposite. In 1995, following the creation of the
Trans Mara District, the control of the Reserve was split between
the County Councils of Narok and Trans Mara. This situation remains
today, with the CCN responsible for the Reserve to the east of the
Mara River, and the CCTM responsible for the Reserve to the west of
the river (still known as the Mara Triangle). In 2001, the
day-to-day management of the Mara Triangle was contracted to an
independent non-profit protected area management company,
the Mara Conservancy, under an initial five-year
management agreement. This management agreement was extended for a
further ten years in 2006.
Surrounding areas are managed as group ranches by
Maasai communities. However, the Kenyan government has promoted
subdivision of group lands into private ranches. 85% of respondents
to a recent survey expected some positive effects of this
subdivision, particularly the anticipated increased security of
property rights. However, 56% also noted likely negative impacts
such as reduction in available grazing areas. The survey found that
many community members anticipate a shift in livelihood and/or land
use if their ranch is subdivided (Seno and Shaw
2002)..
Despite these changes in the size and management
of the Reserve in the 60 years since the area’s initial
gazettement, the MMNR has throughout this time provided a vital
refuge for wildlife, most notably the elephant and Black rhino
populations, and for the spectacular annual large mammal
migrations. In addition, as a result of the area’s high
popularity with visitors, the Reserve has also generated
significant economic benefits at both the local level (through
employment, benefit sharing, and tourism-related enterprises) and
at the national level, where the MMNR has proved to be a driving
force for tourism to the country as a whole. These major functions
that the Reserve has played correspond with oral testimony given by
local residents on the reasons the Reserve was gazetted, which
states: “it was the intention that the game reserve should
be Maasai owned. The idea was for African participation and to
serve tribal interests by conserving wild life for the material
improvement of the Maasai”.
