Maasai tribesman in Loita Hills, Kenya (c) Mark Hickey
We are proud to announce the establishment of the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA). Natural Habitat Adventures and our Nairobi-based office, Natural Habitat Safaris, contributed $5,000 to this effort to protect the wildlife, Maasai people and wilderness within these conservancies. The initiative also serves to create a functional land-use plan to provide a sustainable future for these important stakeholders.
The MMWCA’s mission is to safeguard the future of the Maasai-owned conservancies that border the Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR). This will expand wildlife corridors between the MMNR and new MMWCA conservancies. These various conservancies will also serve as ecotourism areas that are crucial to sustainable tourism, protecting wildlife and wilderness areas, and creating sustainable jobs and income for the local Maasai people.
The various conservancies that make up the new MMWCA were created as a successful initiative by Kenya to support indigenous people, protect wildlife and preserve wilderness. These conservancies now serve as prime wildlife-viewing areas for safari-goers, featuring high-end safari camps and offering nature walks and cultural interactions – which are not possible within the neighboring MMNR. As local Maasai communities own the MMWCA’s conservancies, all profits from safaris go directly to the communities.
Guests enjoying a sundowner in a serene setting at Leleshwa Camp. (c) Leleshwa Camp.
Natural Habitat Safari’s very own Joe Charleson has been integrally involved in the formation and implementation of the MMWCA. For the last two years, Charleson and Kenya’s Leleshwa Camp have been spearheading efforts to establish the Mara Siana Conservancy. In collaboration with local communities, they have been able to successfully establish this 35,000-acre conservancy – a massive wildlife reserve and a vital migration corridor that the MMWCA will serve to promote and protect. The reserve is the best new destination to view the bountiful wildlife of the Maasai Mara!
Visit the unbelievable Mara Siana Conservancy for the safari experience of a lifetime!
