How+Humans+are+Affecting+the+Serengeti

Impacts of Human Activity The effects of the incredibly large population boom and the great influx of tourists in Tanzania have many detrimental effects on the organisms within the Serengeti.

What tourism is doing: There are many dirt paths the crisscross the plains to ferry the tourists from one viewing area to another. These paths may intersect migration routes or disrupt drainage patterns. Also, tourists are using up copious amounts of resources such as water that is reducing the supplies of animals and the local community.

What the locals are doing: As Tanzania is an extremely impoverished country, the local people have limited ways to obtain the resources they need to survive. With the booming tourism industry, many vital necessities such as water and food are being used up, with little left for them. Also, land taken up by the expanding park was once their grazing land, leaving them without a livelihood. Some locals are illegally entering and poaching animals for food or pelts. This hunting has led to the decline of many threatened species in the area. They are also illegally grazing on the plains leading to overgrazing which may cause desertification in some areas.

People of the Serengeti

What the entire world is doing: Everyday we hear about global climate change due to added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is also affecting the Serengeti. Warmer temperatures lead to less rainfall and long droughts. The entire ecosystem relies on water because the producers need water to grow and the consumers eat the consumers. The lack of grasses in some areas is leading to the disappearance of soil and desertification.

The Future of the Serengeti

As mentioned above, added carbon to the atmosphere may lead to the desertification of the Serengeti. This is already happening in areas in northern Kenya around Lake Turkana. Another factor that may lead to desertification is overgrazing by animals. Also, poaching of one keystone organism may lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem. Increased conflicts between the park rangers and the locals may lead to trespassing and violence.