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‘Let me assure you all that our commitment to the preservation of wildlife and the habitat in the Maasai Mara reserve is total. We do not deny that the reserve is of vital economic importance to us, but we also firmly believe, and proclaim, that wildlife deserves to be protected for its own sake. The animals are God's creatures and we affirm their right to live and survive as undisturbed as possible in this busy and over-populated world. The Mara can provide a relief from the commercial pressures of profit and survival. We must thus emphasize that in the Maasai Mara reserve interests of wildlife are paramount.' Samson Ole Tuya, Chairman Narok County Council — Maasai Mara Tourism Workshop, March 1991 ‘The chances of wildlife surviving when people are hungry and poor are becoming increasingly slim.' Samson Ole Tuya, Member of Parliament, Narok South. Workshop — Defining the framework for management and conservation planning for the Maasai Mara ecosystem, November 1996 The Maasai Mara ecosystem has one of the richest assemblages of wildlife in the world and supports about 237 herbivores per km2, making it one of the most productive natural terrestrial ecosystems. It maintains the greatest and most spectacular large mammal migration on earth and is the most highly visited tourist area in the East African region. Tourism generates millions of dollars annually while livestock and agriculture contribute significantly to the local and national economy. This paper examines the enormous threats facing the ecosystem and the efforts being made to keep the ecosystem open in order to support a vibrant tourist trade and a healthy livestock economy. These aspects are currently threatened by a burgeoning human population, land subdivision, changing land tenure systems, crop farming, poaching, habitat fragmentation, blockage of wildlife migratory corridors, habitat destruction, sedentarisation, environmental degradation and poverty. Wildlife conservation is in conflict with agriculture, while tourism has taken away the best grazing areas for livestock. The paper also reviews the ecological and socio-economic problems associated with tourism, land use changes and break down of traditional governance structures and how they have weakened the capacity of Maasai Mara to sustain a viable wildlife populations. Keywords: human impacts, land use, livestock, social conflict, traditional values African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2004, 21(2): 79–88

People in southern Africa are facing escalating levels of risk, uncertainty and consequently vulnerability as a result of multiple interacting stressors, including HIV/AIDS, poverty, food insecurity, weak governance, climate change and land degradation, to name but a few. Vulnerability or livelihood insecurity emerges when poor people as individuals or social units have to face harmful threats or shocks with inadequate capacity to respond effectively. In such situations, people often have no choice but to turn to their immediate environment for support. Evidence suggests that rising levels of human vulnerability are driving increased dependency on biodiversity and ecosystem services, which in turn, and along with other threats, is rendering ecosystems more vulnerable. This paper explores the dynamic and complex linkages and feedbacks between human vulnerability and ecosystem vulnerability, drawing on data from the southern African region. Human vulnerability is conceptualized as a threat to ecosystem heal...