The Maasai communities depend on their land and natural resources for their livelihoods and well-being. However, they are facing increasing pressures: a growing population, break-down in traditional nomadic structures and more frequent and prolonged droughts which has caused high livestock and wildlife mortalities. The health of the rangeland on group ranches has deteriorated over time reducing the carrying capacity for livestock as well as wildlife. This ecological degradation has made the community less resilient to environmental uncertainty, increasing their vulnerability and ultimately leading to greater poverty especially for the most disadvantaged members of the society.
Therefore, MWCT together with the Maasai community on Kuku Group Ranch, is developing an integrated grazing and rangeland management plan to introduce sustainable natural resource management benefitting the environment, wildlife, livestock and the resident Maasai community. Alongside this, a comprehensive rangeland and biodiversity monitoring system will be implemented testing community methodologies for science-based assessment to guide management decisions and understand the status and trends of rangeland and biodiversity on Kuku Group Ranch. Throughout the process, community outreach and awareness raising programmes will be implemented to improve understanding and support for the holistic grazing management plan as well as specific workshops and training programmes targeting the grazing committees and other community members to build capacity.