Serengeti General Management Plan

C. Ecosystem Management Programme
An extract from Table C.3 summarising the threats to the Migration and the management responses
is given in the box below.
Threats to the Migration Threat Level Response
Decline in Mara River flow rates Very high See Target 1.2
Poaching Very high Action 1.1.1 & 2
Park-adjacent developments Medium Action 1.1.1 & 3
Early dry season fires Medium See Target 1.3
Disease Not ranked Action 1.1.1
One of the major threats to the Migration is the decline of the Mara River flow rates, however,
this threat will be dealt with under Target 1.2. In addition, Target 1.3 addresses the threat of
early dry season fires. The management actions designed to address the remaining threats
and enhance the conservation status of the Migration are as follows:
Action 1.1.1: Conduct research to better understand the Migration movements,
population dynamics and disease prevalence
The first management action will seek to better understand the Migration, including the population
dynamics and diseases that affect it. To achieve this, SENAPA will collaborate with
TAWIRI in conducting applied research into migration movements and population dynamics.
In addition, SENAPA will carry out routine serum sampling of captured animals and test for
disease where necessary. The knowledge gained from this action will provide the foundation
for informing the remaining actions of this target.
Action 1.1.2: Support the Resource Protection Department to protect the Migration
against poaching and human encroachments
As identified in the threat analysis above, poaching is a ‘very high’ level threat to the Migration.
Efforts to reduce this threat will be made in collaboration with the SENAPA Resource
Protection Department. In particular, mobile anti-poaching operations will be established for
the key migration months of June and July, and the park boundary demarcation will be improved
in key areas. Initiatives will be examined for increasing effectiveness of capturing
poachers, including the involvement of local communities and the development of a reward
scheme for snares retrieved (see Target 1.1 of the Park Operations Programme).
Action 1.1.3: Advocate and collaborate with partners for the protection of migration
routes in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem
Many of the threats to the Migration occur from human development activities in parkadjacent
areas. As identified in Table C.2 and illustrated in Figure C.3 above, human population
expansion in neighbouring areas is leading to the cutting of migration routes. This is particularly
of concern in the Rubanda section between the western corridor and the northern
sector of SENAPA and in the Group Ranch land north of the Masai Mara National Reserve,
which provides the northern dry season grassland. Cultivation and the potential erecting of
fences in these areas are exacerbating this threat to the Migration.
As these areas are outside the Park’s boundaries, SENAPA management will seek to advocate
for the protection of migration routes in both Tanzania and Kenya, using the monitoring
information collected on poaching, human population settlement, cultivation and livestock
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