Sustainable Africapitalism? Grassroots perceptions of Maasai Mara conservancies and their relationship with development
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Date
29/06/2016Author
Courtney, Crystal Heidi Anne
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Abstract
Integrated conservation and development projects have been widely promoted across Africa. These often
involve public-private partnerships targeting tourism. Despite this encouragement, there are conflicting
views regarding their impact. Conservancies have emerged bordering the Maasai Mara National Reserve
in Kenya. These conservancies are the latest in a series of attempts by residents to capture benefits and
developmental assistance from the safari industry. Drawing upon 19-months of fieldwork, the thesis
examines the contentious relationship between conservancies and development through a case study of
Olare Motorogi and Naboisho Conservancies. The thesis analyses diverging interpretations of
development between and within stakeholder groups active in the study site. Three key development
indicators are identified: basic needs, economic implications and livelihood security. These indicators are
used to assess how the conservancies are perceived to be impacting upon development, what motivating
factors for involvement are, and whether this affects society evenly.
Findings suggest that conservancies and their affiliated organisations are now widely seen as the main
development actors within the study site. This is largely through the creation of community projects,
income-earning opportunities and grazing schemes. The involvement of conservancy-based tourism
businesses in these development initiatives suggests that inclusive business models are being adopted.
There is still a degree of discontent regarding conservancies, especially within neighbouring communities.
Successful project outputs do not always result in successful outcomes. Without steps to ensure that these
outcomes are realised, community projects may be more beneficial for tourism marketing than they are for
neighbouring residents. Significant disparities also remain in income distribution, although economic
benefits accruing from the conservancies are now distributed more evenly than they were in previous
community-based tourism attempts in the Mara. The most emotive issue amongst local residents is access
to essential resources for the dominant livelihood, pastoralism. During the research period, more
comprehensive grazing schemes were introduced which simulate communal grazing systems. These
practices would otherwise have been lost following land subdivision. Some pastoralists maintain that fines
for grazing illegally continue to outweigh other benefits, although others assess that they are beginning to
see that conservancies can have a positive impact on their livelihood.
Conservancy businesses adopting more inclusive strategies constitute a more conscious form of
capitalism. Motivations for this centre around the importance of place, and incorporate an
Africonsciousness. As such, the conservancies exemplify Africapitalism, a new concept within the
broader inclusive business arena. To date, the effectiveness of inclusive capitalism as a development agent
has been inconclusive due to insufficient data. This thesis begins to address this broad literature gap, and
also expands research on Africapitalism to a new industry. Although a positive relationship with
development is widely perceived within the study site, the sustainability of the conservancies is
questioned in the face of multiple prevailing threats. These challenges can be recognised and mitigated
against, but the future of the Maasai Mara Conservancies – and their ability to continue being
development actors – remains uncertain.