Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marginalized Voices in Times of Drought: New Opportunities for Conservation Action by Women and Youth in Amboseli, Kenya

Julia Wack, William & MaryFollow

Date Thesis Awarded

5-2024

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelors of Science (BS)

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

Advisor

Fernando Galeana Rodriguez

Committee Members

Brent Kaup

Mara Dicenta Vilker

Abstract

This research examines the experience of Maasai women and youth under climate-induced drought in Kenya’s Amboseli Basin and its implications for conservation. Amboseli has cultivated a reputation for balancing conservation and community-based development. During the 1970s, the Amboseli Basin was radically transformed by the creation of Amboseli National Park (ANP) and the division of surrounding Indigenous Maasai lands into “group ranches,” or communally owned parcels. Group ranch committees, first established in 1978 to oversee land management decisions, more recently gained the ability to establish conservancies within their ranches. Male-dominated decision-making in group ranches became tradition under patriarchal inheritance rules. Nature tourism is now one of the most important economic activities in the area, despite livestock continuing to be the central income source for Maasai households. As droughts intensify and become more frequent, new challenges of water insecurity, livestock losses, and human-wildlife conflicts are altering traditional ecological roles. A feminist political ecology analysis describes how land governance shapes the capacity of different social groups to adapt to these climate threats.

Amidst recent climate threats faced by traditionally-patriarchal Maasai societies, how are gender and age dynamics shaping adaptation decisions? In July of 2023, forty-nine Maasai residents responded to a general questionnaire and fourteen interviews were held with Amboseli conservation experts. Responses contributed to a holistic analysis of stakeholder attitudes towards local conservation issues. Despite formal exclusion, women have fostered capacity-building skills through self-help networks and increased conservancy leadership. Youth, especially men, have lacked the same opportunities to develop organizationally. Even so, they suggest under-explored strategies which are becoming increasingly recognized by elders.

Recommended Citation

Wack, Julia, "Marginalized Voices in Times of Drought: New Opportunities for Conservation Action by Women and Youth in Amboseli, Kenya" (2024). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 2173.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/2173