Among the most rich and beautiful landscapes in the world
are the vast plains that fall between Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania.
Iconic national parks like the Serengeti in the Maasai Mara offer an experience
that those lucky enough to have visited will never forget.
What's less well known are the lands that surround these protected areas.
These provide critical habitat and movement routes for majestic species such as elephants and lions, known as wildlife corridors.
These lands are also the home of the Maasai people, a community
who have lived alongside wildlife for centuries.
When you think Maasai, you think cows,
and you think lions.
Both of them are intertwined.
As a Maasai, I have grown alongside lions.
And as I was herding my father's cows,
we were side-by-side with lions.
Once in a while we encountered them, and they have been our friends, and at times, our enemies.
I'm standing on very important ground to me.
It reminds me of sad memories,
it reminds me of 1996 when I was 10 years old.
The reports that came in, in the morning, was that my dad was killed by an elephant around this place.
At the time when my father was killed I felt so bad,
but today I am actually advocating for their survival.
Today, the land around the Maasai is changing,
climate change, habitat loss, pressure from privatisation,
land fragmentation, conflict with wildlife, and poaching,
are threatening people's livelihoods, their culture, and nature.
It's vital we help secure and strengthen this unique landscape, to improve the lives of people
and protect precious wildlife for the lasting benefit of our natural world.
The main threats facing lions around this area are habitat loss,
this is as a result of putting up fences,
population increase, and also encroachment by livestock.
The human-wildlife conflict is a big threat
as it leads to killing of predators when they attack livestock.
One of our programme’s role is to try and work with communities
to enhance the interaction between people and predators.
Now to do that we adopt various mitigation measures that help to protect livestock.
I'm John Kadidi Mpoe, I'm a pastoralist,
I keep cattle, sheep and goats. We keep livestock in order to provide us livelihood.
It is something very precious to me. The cost of one cow is sufficient to
pay for the school fees, and the necessary needs of the child.
We got almost every night a disturbance of lions
or leopards jumping over the fence, penetrating through the branches
and killing a number of kids and lambs.
We heard that our friends in Kajiado have deterrent lights that scare predators away,
and we requested WWF with our partners to share the cost of buying such deterrent lights.
Since we place them in the fences,
there are no longer predators attacking livestock in the night.
WWF knows that people are key to protecting wildlife and nature.
By working with Maasai people
and through community led conservation and solutions,
we’ll improve livelihoods,
while also keeping landscapes healthy, protecting vital wildlife corridors,
and developing ways for people to live safely alongside wildlife.
By co-developing nature-friendly enterprises
such as be keeping, WWF is looking to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty.
In this area, we have fifty hives
they are all registered to mothers.
We have 160 mothers that are in the beehive project.
It will be us mothers that have found something that can make us independent.
Something that mothers will be proud of, because it is ours
We can't risk losing another important landscape,
especially when we know how to protect it.
If we want to restore nature and preserve critical wildlife corridors,
it's vital to work with local people,
securing and strengthening the land, improving livelihoods
and protecting the precious wildlife they live alongside.
Through strong partnerships and community led conservation,
we can support local people
to keep landscapes connected and healthy,
benefit from conservation,
and continue to be guardians of wildlife for future generations.
With your support, we can ensure
people and wildlife thrive together in one of the most iconic landscapes in the world.