What are some of the land management issues facing the Maasai at present?
The Maasai need a lot of space and mobility to keep the land healthy and protect their herds from periodic and localized drought conditions. They have been losing land for a long time; first to European settlers, then to national parks. More recently land has been subdivided and sold to individuals who have sometimes put up fencing. It is critical now both to protect Maasai ownership of the land and to find mechanisms, such as land trusts, so that the remaining land can officially belong to the group, or belong to individuals but remain available to the group and unfenced. The land needs to be open to both wildlife and cattle, so there also needs to be funding to cover the unavoidable costs incurred where wildlife roams.
