The Maasai of Kenya are fighting to prevent an indigenous
forest, which for generations has been under their
management and control, from being turned into a tourist
site.
By Ricardo Carrere
Third World Network Features
For generations, the Maasai from Loita, in Kenya, have
protected and conserved one of the few remaining primary
indigenous forests in East Africa. Now this forest is under
threat owing to local government plans to turn it into a
reserve for the development of mass tourism.
Ironically, the International Conference for the
Convention of Biological Diversity was taking place last
June in Nairobi, allegedly to secure the conservation of
the world's threatened biodiversity. At the same time,
the Loita Maasai were being forced to take action to
defend their forest and its surrounding environment from
officially sponsored destruction.
As part of their action, the Maasai invited us and other
representatives from non-governmental organisations to
visit their community in Loita Hills, some 320
kilometres south-West of Nairobi. What follows includes a
description of the situation and the reasons for supporting
this struggle.
Sustainable management of resources
The Loita Maasai are now semi-nomadic and pastoralism
remains their main source of livelihood. They constitute
one of the smaller groups of the wider Maasai community,
comprising some 17,000 individuals in Kenya. Adherence to
cultural laws and norms is still very strong and
traditional authority governs major decision-making.
The people live grouped in small `bomas', containing a few
huts, built with wood and dung within a fenced perimeter
where the cattle are kept during the night. Their main
productive activity consists in raising cows, sheep, goats
and some donkeys. Small-scale susbsistence agriculture has
been introduced fairly recently in the form of maize plots
around the `bomas' to supplement the pastoral diet.
Although we obviously couldn't visit the whole area, what we
saw made us conclude that resources were being used in a
sustainable manner. The people seemed to be well fed; soil
erosion was almost non-existent; the cattle was healthy;
the forest was untouched; wildlife was abundant.
The Maasai Mara Nature Reserve
We also visited the neighbouring Maasai Mara reserve and it
was a totally different panorama. Luxury lodgings and
restaurants, souvenir shops: the usual infrastructure for
mass tourism. As for wildlife, we actually saw more
animals (with the exception of elephants, lions and a few
others) on our trip from Nairobi than within the reserve
itself. As one critic from the Loita community observed:
`Tourism has been allowed to develop with virtually no
controls. Too many lodges have been built, too much
firewood is being used and no limits are placed on
tourist vehicles. They regularly drive off-track and
harass the wildlife. Their tracks criss-cross the entire
Maasai Mara. Inevitably the bush is becoming eroded and
degraded.'
But this is big business. The Narok County Council, which
controls the reserve, is one of the richest local
authorities in Kenya. Tourist entrance fees alone can
imply daily earnings of almost US$20,000 in the peak
season. But the big profits go to foreign enterprises,
such as the Sarova Group of hotels. Other earnings go to
travel companies and agencies. Very little is left for the
local community. The only `profits' they receive arise
from some few jobs as forest guards or from selling local
cheap souvenirs at the entrance. Over 75% of the locally
generated jobs go to people other than those from the
surrounding area.
The Forest of the Lost Child
Maasai Mara is now so over-exploited and degraded by
mass tourism, that business, with support from the local
council, decided to `develop' the neighbouring Forest of
the Lost Child, which has been under the Loita community
management until now. The latter have opposed such a
takeover and are conducting a strong struggle against
the move.
For the international and national business interests,
this forest is only the means to obtain profits. For the
Maasai the forest means much more. As they say: `It is
the centre of our lives. It means our survival, our
spirit, our past and our future.'
When we visited this forest, we were able to ascertain
that it has been preserved in its natural state. There are
no signs of human-related disturbances. The forest is
dense and covered by a great diversity of species. It is
dominated by huge, tall trees, such as Podocarpus,
Juniperus, Arundinaria and Olea africana. The fauna ranges
from elephant and buffalo to primates and a wide variety
of birds. It is important to note that the Maasai are not
hunters, which therefore makes them the ideal keepers of
wildlife.
The forest has been cared for because of its immense
spiritual, cultural and economic significance for the
Maasai. Among others, the following values are described by
them:
1) Watershed protection. Numerous springs and streams
originate in the forest. This is extremely important taking
into account that the lowlands are semi-arid and therefore
water depends on it being protected by the forest at its
source.
2) Availability of pastures. The Maasai depend on
cattle raising. During the rainy season, cattle feed on
the lowland pastures. During the dry season, pastures
can only be found within the boundaries of the forest and
here is where they bring their cattle. Without this, their
whole productive system would collapse. If access to these
pastures is lost, it would simply not be possible for
them to continue their sustainable pastoral practices on
the surrounding land, which is semi-arid and ecologically
fragile. Inevitably, their spiritual and material way of
life would degenerate and they would slide into
unsustainable poverty.
3) Health. Local Maasai healers use medicinal herbs, trees
and plants found in the forest to treat, cure and prevent
many diseases and ailments.
4) Spirituality. The forest is the holy temple of the
Maasai, the place of worship and communion with their
deity. At the centre of the forest lies the Cathedral of
Seven Trees, a sacred place where offering are made to
Enkai, the Maasai God. Many ceremonies are performed
within or at the edges of the forest.
Conservation and `conservation'
All of the above show that the Loita Maasai should be
declared the legal custodians of the forest. They have
proven over the years that they are using it sustainably.
On the contrary, the Maasai Mara reserve has resulted in
environmental degradation due to massive tourism geared
towards maximum profits.
This is a clear example of the contrast between real
conservation and profit-making `conservation'. The former
takes into account local people's needs and management
methods which are in harmony with nature. The latter
excludes local people and results in both environmental
degradation and social disintegration. The choice should
be obvious, but it isn't. Greed is a powerful mechanism
and the Loita Maasai are fighting against it. Their
struggle needs to be supported by the world community, not
only because they are right, but also because struggles
such as this benefit us all. -- Third World Network
Features
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About the writer: Ricardo Carrere is a forester and
environmentalist working at the Third World Institute in
Montevideo, Uruguay.
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