Host to the great wildebeest migration and at the
heart of the greater Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem, the
MMNR
is one of the best known and most visited
protected areas in Africa. Most importantly from the
perspective
of Kenya’s economy, the Reserve is the
flagship of the entire Kenyan tourism industry, and is a
“must see” in
the itineraries of the majority of visitors to the
country. As a result, the Reserve is often justifiably referred
to
as the “Jewel in the Crown” of
Kenya’s protected area network. At the local level, the
Reserve not only plays
a keystone role in the conservation of the entire
Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem, but is also the driving force
behind
all tourism in the Greater Mara Ecosystem. As
such, it generates significant economic benefits locally
as
well as nationally.
But the MMNR is not just an economic powerhouse
– it is also a very important cultural heritage of
the
Maasai people. It is through the Maasai’s
traditional nomadic pastoralist land-use practices and tolerance
of
wildlife that not just the exceptional ecological
features of the Reserve, but also those of the entire
greater
Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem, have managed to survive
into the 21st Century, when all around
wildlife and its
habitats have long since given way to intensive
agriculture. As such, the MMNR is a living testimony to
the
careful land husbandry traditionally practiced by
the Maasai, making it a major cultural as well as
economic
asset to the community.
An important guiding principle of this programme,
therefore, is that the programme’s objectives and
actions
should work towards enhancing both the
MMNR’s role as the flagship of Kenya’s tourism as well
as its significance
in the culture of the community’s living
around the Reserve. Fortunately these two aims are
entirely
complementary. One of the main reasons that
tourists like to visit the MMNR is its strong ties
with
Maasai culture, which are demonstrated not only in
the naming of the Reserve, but also by the
community
members that greet visitors as they step off their
aircraft or arrive at the entrance gate, take them to
their
bomas to witness the traditional way of life, and
wave them off as they travel back to their home
countries.
