SFS Comparative Wildlife Management Studies

  Kenya

Rural

Term: Fall, Spring, Summer 

Description: Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya, home of world famous national parks such as Amboseli, Tsavo, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro conservation area, offers a tightly packed hub of wildlife conservation. This extremely scenic area, which is the center of tourism in East Africa, has been the home of the Maasai people for centuries. The two regions share some bio-physical characteristics and cultural elements, but enough subtle and distinct differences in conservation and development policy, soil and vegetation composition, water resource availability, and culture provide an opportunity for comparing and contrasting wildlife management studies between these two regions. In this two-country program, students will compare and contrast the socio-economic, policy, and environmental drivers and implications of demographic change, land reform, and wildlife poputations for wildlife conservation and rural livelihood.

Students will be exposed to a rich array of issues in both countries related to wildlife management and conservation, presented by SFS faculty and guests who have field experience and knowledge of these areas. Through classroom and field activities, students will contrast the conservation issues in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem of northern Tanzania with those in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem just north of Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya. In this two-country program, students will begin their study at one field station, gaining general knowledge about the wildlife in the region, the pastoralist lifestyle, and principles of wildlife management. Just shy of the half-way point in the semester, students will travel overland to the other field station to apply the foundational knowledge of wildlife management to delve into the specific issues in that region. They will conduct the Directed Research in the final month of the program at the second field site. Students will visit multiple national parks and group ranches at both sites.

Highlights: Live in close proximity to wildlife and local Maasai communities on an African savanna. Learn to speak Swahili. Learn about East African tribal culture. Explore human/wildlife conflicts from the perspective of the Maasai and park managers. Research ways to preserve traditional Maasai culture and wildlife viability.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: Inquire for more info.

Experience Required: no

Participants Travel to Kenya in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 4 (32 on-site)

Scholarships are Available. SFS scholarships up to 6K; Low and 0% interest loans

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

The School for Field Studies's Mission Statement: The School for Field Studies (SFS), an accredited, international non-profit academic institution, provides environmental education and conducts research through its field-based programs. SFS is committed to providing: *Hands-on, field-based interdisciplinary education *Environmental research in partnership with natural resource dependent communities. Our goals are to: *Provide students with a unique and challenging educational and life experience that assists them in successfully advancing their careers as skilled professionals and globally aware citizens; *Work with local community stakeholders to develop models for the sustainable management of their natural resources.

Year Founded: 1980