Human influence

Humans have been a part of the Serengeti ecosystem since our early ancestors started exploring the savannah landscape millions of years ago. However, through population growth and the use of technologies, humans are now exerting great pressures on the ecosystem, with the potential to deplete its resources. Reconciling utilization with conservation goals has become a major challenge.

The human population of the world is growing. According to United Nations’ data, population growth is most pronounced in the developing world. But it is only in Africa that the trend continues unbroken. The number of young people is expected to grow, while on all other continents, their share in the population has stabilized.

In Tanzania, the number of people is expected to more than double by 2050. The people of the coming generations need places to live and occupations to establish their status in society. In rural communities, many rely on traditional ways of living, largely depending on natural resources and ecosystem services: subsistence farming and raising livestock.

Since 1980, cattle stocks in Tanzania have doubled and cattle head numbers may rise further, along with future growth of the population. However, with land as a limited resource, levels of grazing are already unsustainable in many areas around the protected areas.

Overgrazing may become the single greatest danger to the integrity of the Serengeti ecosystem. As more and more land around the protected areas is overused and left barren for decades to come, people look beyond the Serengeti National Park’s boundaries. Illegal grazing, sometimes many kilometres inside the park area, has become the most prevalent violation of park regulations. But if the feeding grounds of the wild animals are depleted, the Serengeti’s defining feature, the Great Migration of large herds of herbivores, is in severe danger.

As settlements and agriculture take up more room around the protected areas, smart use of the land as a limited resource is vital. Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and other actors support the communities in areas within or adjacent to protected areas with land use planning to make the best of the communities’ land while preserving it as wildlife habitat. Furthermore, the FZS Serengeti Ecosystem Management office works to promote alternative ways for communities to earn income and to benefit from the area’s protection to create incentives for conservation.

But it is not only up to the people living in the area to tread lightly to conserve its resources. Every year, some 300,000 visitors come to the Serengeti, staying in lodges, hotels or on campsites. Tourists provide much needed revenue through the daily Park entry fees. But they also use space, energy and water, they produce wastes and they need supplies and transportation. Responsible management of tourism contributes substantially to the protection of the Serengeti ecosystem.