Management Programmes

This Programme seeks to address the threats to the ecological system of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The threats include high visitor densities and human activities that undermine the Mara River’s biodiversity and quantity of water. Accordingly, it focuses on protecting critically endangered species in the Reserve, such as the Black Rhino, protecting and managing the Reserve’s characteristic habitat mosaic from disasters such as fire outbreaks, and enhancing research and monitoring activities about the Reserve.

The Programme focuses on maintaining the Mara tourism products and brand by managing the high number of visitors to the Reserve. It ensures that visitor use does not undermine the Reserve’s exceptional biodiversity. This management aspect is mainly achieved through categorising different areas in the Reserve—known as the Zonation and Visitor Use Scheme—to regulate the permitted activities and developments. To this end, the Programme seeks to improve the quality of visitor experience, strengthen visitor activity regulation, maintain visitor accommodation facilities’ standards, and improve tourism administration systems.

This entails reciprocal activities that aim to improve the relationship between the Reserve and the community in managing and conserving the Reserve and Greater Mara Ecosystem. This is to be achieved through enhancing communication, awareness creation, social responsibility programmes, economic opportunities, conservation-compatible land use and development, and reduction of human-wildlife conflict.

This programme focuses on strengthening the management and complementarity of operations within the Reserve and collaboration with key stakeholders in the wider Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. To this end, it focuses on enhancing and harmonising the management systems, improving collaboration between the two sections of the Reserve, improving the security operations within and around the Reserve, strengthening the Reserves’ human resource capacity, and improving the road infrastructure. The threats include high visitor densities and human activities that undermine the Mara River’s biodiversity and quantity of water. Accordingly, it focuses on protecting critically endangered species in the Reserve, such as the Black Rhino, protecting and managing the Reserve’s characteristic habitat mosaic from disasters such as fire outbreaks, and enhancing research and monitoring activities in relation to the Reserve.