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Dear Friends,
This is the second round of my appeal to you all. You have, I’m sure, all heard the sad news last week about the poisoning of the famous Marsh Lions of the BBC Big Cat Diary series, following their attack and killing of 4 cows that were illegally grazing in the Maasai Mara National Reserve at night. We are hopeful that all the furore over this incident may force some changes in the management of the Mara.
The problem is, as Jonathan Scott says in his recent blog, where can all those cattle go? Sub-Division of Masai land has changed the landscape around the Reserve – it is no longer suitable for large scale pastoralism.
In the wildlife conservancies surrounding the Reserve, such as Mara North Conservancy, use of the land for wildlife based tourism exists alongside pastoralism by rotational use of the area, and attacks by lions on livestock are compensated financially to the community to mitigate such retaliation.
Over and above this, the conservancies collectively pay US$ 4 million annually in land lease payments directly to landowners from the Mara conservancies, plus the cost of managing the conservancies – rangers’ salaries, road and airstrip maintenance, community liaison and general operations. It is the income from tourism which pays for these costs and therefore for the conservancies to exist, as well as prioritizing employment opportunities for the family members of the landowners.
However, with the tourism crisis, our ability to pay and cover all these costs is seriously challenged. And if the conservancies go, the jobs disappear, the land lease payments stop and we say goodbye to the protection of our wildlife – including the lions and remaining resident wildebeest migration – as well as the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people of the Maasai community.
Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, we have raised US$13,000. If each of you included in this appeal donated just $50, we would raise $750,000. You can make a difference with just a small donation, and the Mara needs your help.
Your donation to MNC will mean that we can continue to operate the Conservancy and protect the Mara’s wildlife, through funding essential equipment such as patrol vehicles, anti-poaching vehicles, tractors, digital VHF radios, ranger bases, and increasing much-needed boots on the ground plus securing vital habitat by registering leases for conservation.
With these key requirements, we can carry out wildlife protection and monitoring patrols and be much better able to work with communities to keep the area open for wildlife through the management of local towns, fencing and livestock grazing – the greatest threats to the great migration of Africa.
As the Founder and Chairman of Mara North Conservancy (MNC), I am writing to ask you to please donate generously to MNC today, so we can protect this vital wildlife habitat for the Mara’s wildlife. Your gift of US$ 100, US$ 1,000 or US$ 5,000 can make all the difference. In total we are seeking to raise US$355,000 to help the Mara North Conservancy.
We are also well aware that further loss of wildlife and their habitat of the Maasai Mara could jeopardize other key tourism destinations in Kenya and the rest of East Africa.
Please consider making your most generous gift to Mara North Conservancy. Not only in honour of your personal experience and involvement in the Maasai Mara and your love for Africa, but also to enable your family and friends to visit the Mara in years and generations to come.
Any donation will help protect the Maasai Mara’s iconic wildlife – the greatest mammal migration on the planet, the prides of lion, plus the plethora of other species that coexist.
Never before have we needed your help like we do now.
Thank you so much for your attention and much required generosity.
Thank you my friends,
Stefano Cheli
Chairman, Mara North Conservancy |
