Land and Population Problems in Kajiado and Narok, Kenya

Abstract

Maasailand located in the Kajiado and Narok Districts of Kenya has a serious population pressure problem. The population density is high relative to the current carrying capacity of the land. Consequently the Maasai inhabitants of the area are experiencing a decline in per capita income and famine is an ever present threat. Development strategies must be oriented toward increasing the carrying capacity of the land. The problems in Maasailand stem from the gradual physical destruction of the land which began during the colonial period and continues on into the present era. Prior to colonialization the Maasai developed a pastoral system adapted to the ecology of the area. The Maasai practiced selective breeding used wide areas of land to provide both wet and dry season grazing and developed a symbiotic relationship with neighboring cultivators. Colonial intervention in the early 1900s upset the Maasias ecological adaptation to the areas semi-arid marginal lands. The Maasia were gathered into native reserves in 1904 and 1911 and in the process the Maasai lost much of their dry season range grounds. As a result of the movement to the reserves the herds were overstocked in relation to the carrying capacity of the land but not in relation to the subsistence needs of the population. Overgrazing of the land then led to erosion and dessication of the land. Colonial policies led to Maasai isolation and the destruction of their symbiotic relationship with their neighbors. The government failed to develop an infrastructure for marketing Maasai livestock and the Maasai could not sell their excess animals. Various development schemes were instituted by the government. Because they were aimed at reducing the herds rather than improving the carrying capacity of the lands they failed to improve the subsistence base of the Maasai. The problem of land pressure was further aggravated by the establishment of game preserve and national parks in the area in the 1940s. The Maasai lost additional grazing lands to the parks their livestock was preyed upon by wild animals and the Maasai derived no benefits from the development of the tourist industry. Cultivators in neighboring areas were experiencing land pressure also and they frequently encroached upon the Maasais grazing lands. Land adjudication strategies initiated in the 1960s turned common trust lands over to individual Maasai and ranch groups of Maasai. The plan called for creating ecologically viable ranches but in practice the plan did not work. As a result many Maasai are now landless. The population pressure problem in Maasailand can be solved if efforts are made to develop a viable livestock and dairy industry in the area. In order to accomplish that task: 1) the herds must be improved 2) an extensive veterinary service must be established 3) food and water supplies must be upgraded 4) a marketing and transportion infrastructure must be created and 5) the land adjudication program must be revised. Given the Maasais annual population growth rate of 3% action must be taken now to reduce population pressure before the problem becomes insurmountable.