NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA
Within the Crater Highlands geological region of northeastern Tanzania, in the Ngorongoro District, 180 kilometres (110 miles) west of Arusha City, lies the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ngorongoro Crater, a sizable volcanic caldera in the region, is the source of the area's name.
The conservation area is administered by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, a branch of the Tanzanian government, and its borders coincide with those of The Great movement, a huge yearly movement of millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and other species, takes place in the region that includes the two parks and Kenya's Maasai Mara game reserve. The western part of the park borders the Serengeti National Park. One of the most significant paleoanthropological sites in the world, Olduvai Gorge, is also located within the protection area.
With 752,232 visitors in 2023, Ngorongoro Conservation is one of Tanzania's most visited tourism destinations in the Arusha Region's Ngorongoro District.
Maasai pastoralists, the majority of whom had been moved to Ngorongoro from their ancestral lands to the north when the British colonial government established Serengeti National Park in 1959, were forced to relocate when the 2009 Ngorongoro Wildlife Conservation Act imposed new restrictions on human settlement and subsistence farming in the Crater.
Geography and history
The Maasai pastoralists gave the crater its onomatopoeic name, naming it after the sound made by the cowbell (ngoro ngoro). Numerous hominid species have lived in the region for three million years, according to fossil evidence discovered at the Olduvai Gorge.
A few thousand years ago, pastoralists took the role of hunter-gatherers. About 2,000 years ago, the Mbulu arrived in the region, and around 1700, the Datooga joined them. In the 1800s, the Maasai drove both populations out of the region.
No Europeans are known to have entered the Ngorongoro Crater until Oscar Baumann visited in 1892. Two German brothers, Adolph and Friedrich Siedentop, leased the land from the German East Africa administration and cultivated the crater until the start of World War I. The brothers attempted to drive the wildebeest herds out of the crater and regularly threw shooting parties to amuse their German friends.
The first game preservation ordinance, which limited hunting to permit holders nationwide, was passed in 1921. With the exception of the old Siedentopf farms, all ground inside the crater rim was off-limits to hunting in 1928. The Serengeti National Park was established in 1951 by the National Park Ordinance of 1948. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Ordinance (1959), which divided the conservation area from the national park, was the consequence of issues with the Maasai and other tribes. The number of Maasai and livestock in the Crater increased as a result of the systematic relocation of Maasai pastoralists from Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro.
The majority of the land in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, including the Crater, is owned by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, which was created by the Game Park Laws (miscellaneous changes) Act, 1976. Originally included for its environmental value, the region was inducted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
In 2010, it was granted Mixed Heritage Status. Its cultural acceptance is based on "an exceptionally long sequence of crucial evidence related to human evolution and human-environment dynamics…including physical evidence of the most important benchmarks in human evolutionary development”. The Maasai community has not been included in this acknowledgement, though, which is why there has been a persistent dispute over how to utilise and maintain the park.
The Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 established a legislative framework to physically relocate and politically disenfranchise traditional pastoralists while also severely restricting human use of Ngorongoro Crater. 57–59 Tension arises between the local Maasai community and conservation officials as a result of the land use restrictions. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is looking for ways to strengthen cooperation in conservation activities with the local population and reduce conflict.
Because it is the only conservation area in Tanzania that permits human habitation while simultaneously protecting wildlife, the land is unique and multipurpose. To avoid adverse impacts on the animal population, land use is regulated. Cultivation is forbidden, for instance, except at subsistence levels.
Part of the Serengeti ecosystem, the region lies adjacent to the SNP to the northwest and shares a border with the southern Serengeti plains. The Maasai people's transhumance pastoralism keeps these plains accessible to animals and stretches northward into the unprotected Loliondo division. There are volcanic highlands to the south and west of the region, which include the well-known Ngorongoro Crater and the lesser-known Empakaai Crater. The rim of the East African Rift wall, which also blocks animal migration in these directions, roughly delineates the southern and eastern borders.
Geology
The Gregory Rift Western Escarpment marks the eastern edge of the Eyasi half-graben, which is home to eight extinct shield volcanoes that make up the Pliocene Ngorongoro volcanic group. The half-graben is bounded on the southwest by the Lake Eyasi escarpment. Three of the volcanoes in the complex have calderas, while five of them are dome-shaped cones. The main component of the Ngorongoro Volcano (2.5–1.9 Ma) is basaltic trachyandesite. The Ngoitokitok hot springs pour into the Goringop marsh, while the Munge and Oljoro Nyuki Rivers feed into the caldera. Lake Magadi is an alkaline lake that is just 1.7 meters deep. Olmoti (2.01–1.79 Ma), Empakaai, Loolmalasin, Sadiman (3.7 Ma), Lemagrut, and Oldeani are some of the other volcanoes in the complex. The Gol Mountains inselbergs, the Olduvai Gorge, the Salei Plains, and the Serengeti Plains make up the northwest section of the conservation area. These inselbergs are between 800 and 500 million years old and belong to the Mozambique Belt's quartzite and mica schist.
The Crater of Ngorongoro
The Ngorongoro Crater, the largest entire, empty, and inactive volcanic caldera in the world, is the primary feature of the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority. The crater, which is 610 meters (2,000 feet) deep and has a floor area of 260 square kilometres (100 square miles), was created two to three million years ago when a massive volcano erupted and collapsed on itself. The ancient volcano was estimated to have been between 4,500 and 5,800 meters (14,800 and 19,000 ft) high. At 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) above sea level, the crater floor is located.
In February 2013, the crater was selected as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa by Seven Natural Wonders in Arusha, Tanzania. Between 2.45 and 2 million years ago, the Ngorongoro volcano was active. Ngorongoro's volcanic eruption, which created Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, was one of many that occurred. Although they were far less significant in scope and impact, similar collapses took place at Olmoti and Empakaai.
Kerimasi and Ol Doinyo Lengai are two recent volcanoes northeast of the Empakaai caldera. Doinyo Lengai is still active and experienced significant eruptions in 2007 and 2008. The present crater is still gradually being filled by smaller ash eruptions and lava flows. It means 'Mountain of God' in Maasai.
The primary water source that empties into the crater's seasonal Salt Lake is the Munge Stream, which drains Olmoti Crater to the north. There are two names for this lake: Magadi and Makat, which means salt in Maasai language. The Lerai Stream feeds the Lerai Forest on the crater floor and drains the humid forests south of the crater; when there is sufficient precipitation, the Lerai also empties into Lake Magadi. Water entering Lerai is reduced by about 25% as a result of water extraction by hotels and the headquarters of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
The Ngoitokitok Spring, which is located close to the eastern crater wall, is the crater's other main water source. The location is home to lions, elephants, hippopotamuses, and many other animals. It also has a large swamp that is nourished by the spring and a picnic spot that is open to tourists. Around the floor of the crater are other smaller springs that serve as vital water sources for the local Maasai and animals, particularly during dry spells. Previously allowed to graze their cattle inside the crater, Maasai were prohibited from doing so as of 2015.
Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai
The lowlands area's Oldupai or Olduvai Gorges are also protected by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Following the discovery of the oldest known members of the human genus, Homo habilis, as well as early hominidae, like Paranthropus boisei, it is regarded as the seat of humanity.
The Great Rift Valley, which runs along eastern Africa, has the steep-sided Olduvai Gorge. Olduvai is roughly 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and located in northern Tanzania's eastern Serengeti Plains. It is the driest area of the area and is located in the rain shadow of the Ngorongoro highlands. The Maasai term for the wild sisal plant, Sansevieria ehrenbergii, "Oldupaai," is the source of the gorge's name.
Research conducted at one of the most significant prehistoric sites in the world has greatly advanced our knowledge of the evolution of early humans. Mary and Louis Leakey started the excavation there in the 1950s, and their family is still doing it today. According to some theories, the location was that of a sizable lake millions of years ago, with volcanic ash deposits covering its shoreline one after the other. Seismic activity redirected a nearby stream about 500,000 years ago, which started to erode the sediments and expose seven major layers in the gorge walls.
A The crater is home to over 25,000 big animals, primarily ungulates. The black rhinoceros one of the large mammals in the crater, saw a fall in local numbers from roughly 108 in 1964–66 to 13 in 1993. As a result of the World Wildlife Fund, International Rhino Foundation, and Frankfurt Zoological Society's monitoring and conservation efforts, there are currently 55 animals in total as of 2018.
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and African buffalo, often known as Cape buffalo are among large creatures found in the crater. The eland, Thomson's gazelles, Grant's zebra and blue wildebeest (7,000 estimated in 1994) are among the numerous other ungulates. Kobus ellipsiprymnus, or waterbucks are found mostly close to Lerai forest.
The crocodile, topi, oribi, giraffe, and impala are not present.
Seldom seen are the African leopard, East African wild dog, and cheetah. Since 1996, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area has been the focus of an extensive scientific study on spotted hyenas.
Even though the crater is considered "a natural enclosure" for a diverse range of animals, during the rainy season, at least 20% of the wildebeest and 50% of the zebra populations leave, but Cape buffalo remain; their numbers are at their maximum.
The number of wildebeest in the crater has decreased from 14,677 in 1986 to 7,250 in 2003-2005. While the buffalo population has significantly expanded, the numbers of eland and Thomson's gazelle have also decreased. This is likely because long-term fire avoidance favours high-fibrous grasses over shorter, less fibrous ones.
There are several servals in the crater.
Thousands of mostly lesser flamingos frequently call Lake Magadi, a sizable lake southwest of the crater, home.
Mduma's shrew, the only indigenous mammal found in the crater, is found only in the montane forests that border it. Because of the deforestation caused by smallholder farming, this shrew is listed as endangered.
Lions
With 62 in 2001, the crater is home to one of the densest known populations of lions
The lion population is severely inbred as a result of the crater's natural cage status. Because so few male lions migrate into the crater from the outside, there are extremely few new lineages that reach the local gene pool. The male lions in the crater generally drive out any outside competitors, preventing those that do enter from adding to the gene pool.
According to long-term records, between 1962 and 2002, there were four fatal illness epidemics that affected lions in the crater.[39] By May 1962, there was a huge accumulation of bloodsucking stable flies due to the 1961 drought and the rains that continued during the 1962 dry season. Lion numbers fell from 75 to 100 to 12 as a result of their blood-draining and painful, untreated skin sores. By 1975, the population had rebounded to about 100, and it stayed that way until 1983, when a steady decline started. Since 1993, the number has mostly stayed around 60 animals, falling to a low of 29 in 1998. Between January and April of 2001, a combination of canine distemper and tick-borne illness killed 34% of the lion population.
The invasion of prides by new males, who usually murder young cubs, also has an impact on the lion population. However, illness, especially canine distemper, seems to have the largest impact.
Ngorongoro
The majority of wildlife species and Masai people live in good numbers in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Cheetah and lion populations are especially robust in the Ndutu Lake region west of the conservation area. The spotted hyena, jackals, and hartebeest are common in the region. It's possible that the African wild dog population has recently decreased. On the plains west of the Ngorongoro Crater, servals are common.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is traversed by the yearly ungulate migration, which brings in 470,000 gazelles, 260,000 zebra, and 1.7 million wildebeest in December and leaves in June. The migratory travels throughout nearly the whole plains in pursuit of food, however it varies seasonally according on the rains.
Risks to the Conservation Area
The most urgent issues at the moment are the need to manage and promote tourism, the high demands on natural resources and modernism from a growing resident population, and more. Today, there are an estimated 93,000 pastoralists living within NCA, which is almost five times the amount when the property was classified in 1979. Emerging villages and homes seem to have consequences. Tensions between locals and conservation groups are rising as communities are calling for the return of subsistence crop farming in order to achieve food self-sufficiency, even though small-scale agriculture is currently prohibited. Additionally, on NCA territory, there are about 300,000 domestic animals coexisting with wildlife.
The Maasai are grazing their animals in the Ngorongoro.
The number of pastoralists living in the region has steadily grown from about 8,700 in 1966 to 20,000 when it was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979 to 93,136 in 2017. The population is expected to grow to 161,000 by 2027. Increased infrastructure, grazing areas, conflicts between humans and wildlife, and land use are all effects of this population growth.
The location's scenic qualities are being preserved. It is evident, therefore, that homes and other facilities connected to the expanding pastoralist community would detract from the benefits. The use of imported materials (such as cement and corrugated iron) and the unsustainable use of heavy poles from nearby forests are gradually replacing traditional building materials and techniques (based on locally accessible natural materials). The NCAA has developed a set of "building codes" to direct these changes, although it is unknown what will happen when the standards are put into practice. While pastoralist settlement is unrestrained, lodge and tented camp developments are often strategically placed, appropriately constructed, and concealed. In the short term, dust puffs from moving vehicles have a slight effect on scenic features. The integrity of the site would be harmed by uncontrolled dwelling unit construction on the property. Structure construction needs to be routinely monitored and controlled.
Anytime livestock is killed by predatory animals or eaten by wildlife within or close to a conservation area, there is a human-animal conflict. The Maasai people have a long history of living with wildlife and have grown to be quite tolerant of it. On the other side, poverty, food insecurity, the growing human population in the environment, and resource scarcity are causing competition and conflict to increase and cow-animal relationships to become more intimate.
In the past, the traditional Maasai culture has presented difficulties for people who want to take on intricate managerial positions in their communities. The Maasai people were reluctant to accept education as a necessity until recently. Only just before 2000 did attitudes change as they realised that they needed to interact with outside forces rather than keep to themselves in order to have an impact on the continuous changes that are occurring in their community. One senior traditional leader, for instance, said that he truly regretted escaping from school as a child. It is highly likely that he has instilled this mindset in the younger members of his community. Because of this, the NCAA has historically had a hard time getting Maasai villages to attend any colleges they set up. The NCAA's excitement for school-building activities will have been muted by this alone.