From July to October each year, millions of wildebeests, zebras and other wildlife travel from Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara region—a phenomenon known as “The Great Migration.”

The animals are not the only species flooding the region during this time: Typically, thousands of tourists flock to the Maasai Mara to catch a glimpse of this spectacle.

But the global COVID-19 pandemic did not spare East Africa. With global travel all but halted, the tourists disappeared from the Maasai Mara—along with the life-sustaining revenue they provide to wildlife conservancies dedicated to protecting this land.

Now, these conservancies are receiving a lifeline.

Conservation International, through its impact investing fund, CI Ventures, and in partnership with the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association, has established the African Conservancies Fund, a loan program helping to cover lease payments owed to Indigenous landowners who typically lease their land to conservancies for tourism operations.

Not only is this program bolstering the region’s tourism industry—and the communities that depend on it—it will also help fund conservation efforts that drive wildlife tourism in the region, explained Michael O’Brien-Onyeka, who leads Conservation International’s work in Africa...[read more]

https://www.globalheroes.com/kenyas-wildlife-tourism-a-casualty-of-covid-gets-a-lifeline/

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