The Serengeti 👤

• Firewood🔥

  Firewood collection removes trees which leaves soil vulnerable as it can be blown away leading to desertification. Firewood is essential for the Maasai’s fuel for cookers and to provide heat in the winter months. Firewood collection removes vegetation which can lead to soil erosion and further lead to desertification. Trees provide food for animals so animals are forced to eat each others plants which increases competition and many animals die if they cannot adapt 
• Tourism✈️


  • Generates more income
  • Provides education about the animals and wildlife in the area (raising awareness)
  • Can lead to cultural erosion as tribes are reliant on the tourist industry than on their traditional nomadic lifestyle
  • Can drain local water supplies and direct them towards hotels and lodges, away from the local inhabitants
  • Can lead to waste being pumped into rivers which is poisonous for the animals and humans who drink it
• Massai


  • Can be employed as seasonal tour guides, helping people to learn about their culture
• Increase in the number of vehicles in the area due to tourism

  Increased air and noise pollution
• Commercial farming 👨‍🌾

  The government encourages farmers to move to the best dry season land and convert it to farmland. This involves planting a lot of the same crop for commercial consumption and de,and which leads to a loss of nutrients in the soil. Where farmers move on, there will be nothing left on the soil meaning it can be blown away and contribute to desertification 
• Poaching

  The illegal killing of animals
• Increased population in Serengeti over previous years

  Increased demand for meat
• Increased demand for meat

  Increase in poaching
• Increase in poaching


  Knock on effect to ecosystems
• Knock on effect to ecosystems

  Many animals will need to adapt to eat other animals who had been killed or on the verge of extinction
• Poachers are now killing 150,000 wildebeest a year
• Animals don't adapt to each other

  Can die
• White rhino populations have fallen to small numbers near to extinction
• White rhino horns are worth money


  Can be used in many Chinese medicines
• Traditional farming👨‍🌾

  Animals are left to graze the land, leading to overgrazing, and many of the same crops are planted again (similar to commercial farming). The Maasai dig irrigation channels to divert water to their crops which diverts water away from villages.