Doctoral Dissertation Research: Contesting Maasai Livestock-Herding and Saving Kenyan Wildlife in Creating Amboseli National Park

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Introduction This project will examine the historical relationships between stakeholders involved in wildlife conservation in protected areas of Africa. She will conduct research in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Building on the scientific literature regarding conservation science in Amboseli, this research will add a new dimension of historical analysis by examining the perspectives of scientists, wildlife managers, and the population living around the park, comprised largely of Maasai. This research will provide a wide scope, from 1940 to the present, for examining changes in conservation policies and how they were received and implemented by the Maasai population. Intellectual Merit The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of conservation on Maasai livelihoods and how conservation science was influenced by local knowledge systems. This project will analyze this relationship through oral histories, participant observation, and archival document analysis. This will be the first project in this region utilizing ethnographies of scientists as well as local Maasai residents to understand the local impact of national and international conservation policies. The methodology will allow for analysis of the deeper influence of conservation on the lives of groups of people who are often marginalized through poverty and whose pastoralist lifestyle is often critiqued for conflicting with conservation. Potential Broader Impacts This research has implications for developing community-based conservation programs, designing social impact research, and understanding scientific authority regarding local knowledge systems. Local and national authorities will gain insight into the long-term implications of land use policies and how to plan for drought management that takes into account both conservation needs and sustainable livelihoods of local communities, both in this savannah region of southern Kenya and other regions with fragile biodiversity.