We agree with you whole heartedly about the cooperation needed between the two governments. The Mara Conservancy have been working in tandem with the rangers from the Tanzanian side for many years now, and in a recent meeting to work on better cooperation between the two countries along the whole of the border we, the Serengeti and Mara Conservancy rangers, were held up as an example of how the two sides can work together.

It is true that the governments needs to take more responsibility, and we are pleased that we were able to start the process at a grass roots level. We hope that the governments will continue with their support.

Thank you for your reply. I would hope that the two governments work together through the East African partnership to address these cross-border issues affecting your conservancy. At the end of the day, it rests on the political will in both capitals to realize the need and urgency of this matter. I was wondering if you had a wildlife lobby or advocacy group in Kenya to pressure the government to come up with legislation that promotes better relations and partnership between the two countries regarding conservation strategies and cross-border law enforcement? But the problem is that our governments have been irresponsive to such matters for a long time. I think it’s about time that the key stakeholders in the tourism, wildlife and environmental conservation industries to take the lead and demand our governments to be more responsive and accountable. Our wildlife treasures are our lifelines that seperates us between poverty and prosperity. Even though we are generally poor, our countries have great potential to harness these resources in a more beneficial way to guarantee both conservation and economic development. However, what needs to happen is to have the political will within the leadership in the kenyan government to effect change that matters across the board.

One of the obstacles we face in this situation is the political border between both sides, which makes it near impossible for the Mara Conservancy to work with local communities on the Tanzanian side. Instead we can only hope that the Tanzanian government will take responsibility or action.

William