Manyara Ranch: Piecing Together Land in Tanzania

Protected areas like national parks are important areas for wildlife, but if the land surrounding them is not properly conserved, they risk becoming isolated and unviable for wildlife.

Lake Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park are 40 kilometers apart. About ten years ago, the migration route that connects them—known as the Kwakuchinja corridor—began to disappear. Habitat fragmentation and degradation such as this have become the greatest threats to conservation in northern Tanzania.

To address these threats, AWF helped establish the new Tanzania Land Conservation Trust (TLCT). The TLCT is a non-profit institution whose main goal is to acquire critical wildlife areas threatened by private development. The TLCT manages these lands to protect the needs of pastoral communities as well as to preserve the integrity of these areas for wildlife conservation.

In April 2001, Manyara Ranch became the first property acquired by the TLCT. Previously owned by the Tanzanian government, Manyara Ranch occupies a critical central location in the Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor between Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks and comprises a total area of 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres). Long-term conservation goals for the two national parks require linking these core protected areas with corridors of undeveloped land across which wildlife can move, and the acquisition of Manyara Ranch served as an initial major step in this direction.

In addition to its importance as a corridor, Manyara Ranch offers exciting conservation outreach potential for showcasing how communities can benefit from wildlife conservation outside of protected areas. Set in a landscape experiencing rapid habitat degradation, the ranch serves as a laboratory to study the factors driving habitat degradation and human-wildlife conflicts. This research informs innovative and adaptive management approaches aimed at curtailing habitat degradation, conflict mitigation and habitat restoration. Approaches include diverse conservation financing mechanisms, combining both community and private initiatives. The process of identifying, planning and managing income-generating activities is guided by the goal of developing a sustainable mechanism for both conservation and benefit-sharing with local communities.

Today, Manyara Ranch successfully manages cattle in conservation-friendly ways. Rangers patrol the ranch, monitoring wildlife and warding off poachers. And with the help of the Annenberg Foundation and others, a pre-existing boarding school for Maasai children was moved out of the wildlife’s way — relocated to an ultramodern facility completed at the end of 2006. But most important, a huge portion of the Kwakuchinja corridor is secured for the future.

To help sustain Manyara Ranch Conservancy, a luxury safari camp was developed which officially opened in June 2010. This intimate safari experience offers safari facilities for relatively small numbers of visitors to experience the wildlife and culture in and around this vital wilderness area. Here guests can enjoy an authentic safari experience with the modern luxuries such as comfortable beds, an en-suite bathroom, with hot and cold running water, and flush toilets. Each tent also has a private viewing deck allowing guests to enjoy their morning cup of coffee with a panoramic view onto the plains beyond. The safari camp consists of six classic East African-style tents and offers exclusive access to the impressive wildlife in the conservancy. With an outstanding group of safari guides, travelers can enjoy both traditional game drives as well as walks in the conservancy, escorted by armed guides who specialize in walking safaris.

Guests can also enjoy a range of private activities, some of which are rarely offered elsewhere in Tanzania, such as night game drives. Throughout the year, the Conservancy remains a haven for wildlife moving between the parks and protected game areas surrounding Manyara Ranch Conservancy. In the near future, the Conservancy will also implement opportunities to accompany and assist AWF and other scientists with their research projects in the Conservancy Area.