Researching opportunities for partnerships and models for community conservation, the Honeyguide Foundation visited the Maasai Preservation Trust based in the Chyulu Hills near Amboseli. The Maasailand Preservation Trust (MPT) was founded in 1992 by Richard Bonham in response to the increasing conflict between the ecosystem and its human inhabitants. Given the rapid population growth rates of people and livestock over the last century, the Maasai have found themselves in a situation where the costs of living with wildlife far exceed the benefits. Conflicts such as competition for grazing land and livestock depredation by lions and other predators have led to the persecution of wildlife.
MPT’s main focus is to provide the Maasai people with financial and other critically important benefits in return for conserving wildlife and habit. The achieve this using 4 strategies:
- Predator Compensation Fund (PCF)
- Community Game Scouts
- Education
- Field research and additive conservation programs (Lion Guardians)
HGF are researching the different community conservation models in east Africa in order to select successful strategies that can be applied in Tanzania. Damian Bell visited the MPT’s operation in the Chyulu Hills and met with Richard Bonham and Fred Njagi and their head of security to discuss the challenges and successes of their operations. Honeyguide and other partners are also researching the opportunity for cross border collaboration with conservation strategies in particular with the Amboseli ecosystem.
For more information on the Maasailand Preservation Trust visit their website: http://maasailand.wildlifedirect.org/
