We
are delighted to report that the Waterholes Restoration
Project in Merrueshi Group Ranch has been completed. The
aim of this project is to harvest rainwater which would
otherwise be lost to evaporation and runoff. This conservation
project will benefit Maasai pastoralists and hundreds of
wildlife in the region.
Waterholes
have historically been the primary source of water in the
semi-arid land of the Maasai. To date, watering holes continue
to play an important role for wildlife and livestock in
East Africa.
According
to Maasai pastoralists, the waterholes were originally formed
and maintained by elephants and warthogs. The names of these
six renovated waterholes sometimes reveal information on
their discovery or the animals that utilize them. For example,
one of the waterholes, Noombitiro, was named after a warthog
that led herders and their livestock to the waterhole. Another
waterhole, Lolkanchaoi is a hub for elephants in the area.
This is where the elephants play and take mud baths to protect
themselves from the dry savanna heat.
Renovation
of the waterholes will bring them back to their natural
state. The waterholes have silted up due to a combination
of excessive vegetation growth and soil erosion. An adequate
water supply from the new waterholes will give wildlife
and livestock the choice to roam and graze freely, preventing
overgrazing, and the early exhaustion of resources in any
one area.
Community
Responsibility for Waterholes
Each
beneficiary community has selected a committee that will
oversee the use and management of their waterhole. These
communities will maintain their waterhole without additional
funding from the Maasai Association.
