Conservancies

Maasai Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem: Its Wildlife, Significance, and Geography

The Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem is one of the last major wildlife refuges  on earth, stretching over 1,500 miles from the Ngorongoro Highlands in Tanzania to the Loita Hills of southern Kenya. It is one of Africa’s most diverse and spectacular wildlife conservation areas and is the world’s top safari big game viewing ecosystem. 40% of all large mammals in Africa live here consisting of just 1% of the land mass of all of Africa.

Since Basecamp was founded in 1997 – after communal lands became privatized – one of our primary goals became creation and management plans  for land conservancies in regions neighboring the Maasai Mara National Reserve.  

Through these land conservancies, the environment is protected, historic wildlife migration corridors remain open, and the Maasai people – who own and have lived on these lands for generations – benefit.   

As of 2024:
  • 22 conservancies have been established, encompassing 395,368 acres and over 15,700 Maasai landowners
  • 83.7% of wildlife in the mara live on the 22 conservancies

The conservancies are dependent on tourism to pay the lease fees to the land owners.

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