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Cultivation and Conservation in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

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Abstract

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tanzania, contains renowned wildlife, an expanding human population, and cultivation by Maasai agro-pastoralists and non-Maasai agriculturalists. We used integrated assessments to explore some effects of cultivation on livestock, resident wildlife, and people. Using a Landsat image from 2000, we mapped 3,967 ha [9,803 acres (ac)] of cultivation within NCA, or 39.7 km2 of the 8,283 km2 conservation area. Using integrative ecosystem (Savanna) and household (PHEWS) models, we assessed effects of: up to 50,000 ac (20,234 ha) of cultivation; cultivation concentrated into two blocks totaling 10,000 ac (4,047 ha) and 20,000 ac (8,094 ha) that may be more palatable to tourists; and human population growth. Simulations with from 10,000 to 50,000 ac in cultivation showed no large changes in ungulate populations relative to there being no cultivation. When cultivation was altered to be in two blocks, some wildlife populations changed (≤15%) and ungulate biomass remained the same. When cultivation was increased linearly with human population, poor households needed 25% of their diets to come from relief as populations tripled, because livestock could not increase significantly. Our results indicate that having <1% of NCA in cultivation, in its current distribution, is not overly detrimental to wildlife or livestock populations, and is important to Maasai well-being.

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Acknowledgments

V. Runyoro assisted with mapping cultivation, and with outreach efforts. Discussions with S. BurnSilver and S. Lynn greatly improved the research. Our thanks to E. Chausi for posing the questions addressed by the research team, P. Moehlman for providing data, and to members of the Maasai community who provided input. This publication was made possible through funding provided to M. Coughenour, J. Ellis, and K. Galvin by the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program, supported by the Office of Agriculture and Food Security, Global Bureau, United States Agency for International Development under Grant No. PCE-G-98-00036-00, and by support from the US National Science Foundation Biocomplexity program to N.T. Hobbs et al. under grant 0119618.

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  1. Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, 1499 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1499, USA

    Randall B. Boone, Kathleen A. Galvin, David M. Swift & Michael B. Coughenour

  2. International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya

    Philip K. Thornton

  3. Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Philip K. Thornton

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  1. Randall B. Boone
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  2. Kathleen A. Galvin
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  5. Michael B. Coughenour
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Correspondence to Randall B. Boone.

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Boone, R.B., Galvin, K.A., Thornton, P.K. et al. Cultivation and Conservation in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Hum Ecol 34, 809–828 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9031-3

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