Disequilibrial ecosystems and livelihood diversification among the Maasai of Northern Tanzania: Implications for conservation policy in Eastern Africa

This paper looks at the challenges emerging when conservation objectives in the Ngorongoro district of northern Tanzania needs to be coordinated with the goal of creation of sustainable livelihoods by the pastoral people living in that area. The paper first gives brief review of pastoralism as it is seen by most ecologists, conservationists, and development practitioners prior to the 1990s. After then the paper examines the diversification of the livestock-based economy of the pastoral peoples in Ngorongoro district and the challenges caused by these livelihood strategies to conservation policy.