KENYA’S
WILDLIFE TOURISM:
A CASUALTY
OF COVID GETS
A LIFELINE
BY: KILEY PRICE,
F
rom July to October each year, millions of wildebeests, zebras and other wildlife travel from Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara region—a phenomenon known as “The Great Migration.” The animals are not the only ones flooding the region during this time: Typically, thousands of tourists flock to the Maasai Mara to catch a glimpse of this spectacle. But the COVID-19 pandemic did not spare East Africa. With global travel all but halted, tourists
82
disappeared from the Maasai Mara—along with the critical revenue they provide to wildlife conservancies dedicated to protecting this land. Now, these conservancies are receiving a lifeline. Conservation International, through its impact investing fund, CI Ventures, and in partnership with the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association, has established the African Conservancies Fund, a loan program helping to cover lease payments owed to Indigenous landowners who typically lease their land to conservancies for tourism operations.
PHOTOS © JON MCCORMACK VIA CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL
