Loss of biodiversity
Nestled between the Rombo and Mbririkani Ranches, the Kuku Group Ranch is a savannah landscape and critical wildlife corridor between the Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks. The area is home to more than 29,000 Maasai people. In recent years, the Kuku ranch’s population has grown exponentially, at the same time, the area is increasingly affected by unpredictable rainfall and decreasing topsoil quality due to climate change. Some parts of the region now only receive 400 mm of rainfall annually.
These factors have led to increasingly rapid erosion and degradation of pasturelands for the Maasai community to live and farm on. Consequently, agricultural and livestock productivity have decreased dramatically, affecting many Maasai livelihoods across the savannah landscape. Historic overgrazing of the land by cattle coupled with the effects of climate change are drying up the land and reducing its productive capacity, causing water and food scarcity, increasing poverty, and leading to a loss of biodiversity.
