Serengeti Conservation: Threats, Challenges & Future Solutions

Water scarcity & climate pressures

As you will have gathered through Blogs 5 and 6, the Serengeti is rightly famous for its vast and seemingly untouched savannah plains. But beyond the golden grasslands, the wetlands and woodlands, form a lifeline that is extremely important for the biodiversity of the park. These habitats are essential for species such as the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), Olive Baboon (Papa anubis) and Hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius) which are often overlooked.

A major long-term threat facing the SNP is water scarcity for the animals during dry years, as only one river flows perennially through the park (Mara River). Reports indicate that the Mara Wetlands are experiencing altered water flow due to deforestation, agriculture, and irrigation upstream in Kenya’s Mau Forest and Mara Basin, highlighting the critical need for cross-border conservation. The park has always been shaped by natural forces, but today many of its pressures are man-made. The park survives because people choose to protect what cannot protect itself.

The overlooked role of hippos

Hippos, currently listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, are the neglected megafauna. Their primary threat across East Africa is habitat destruction and poaching, however they are vital for maintaining the health of these wetlands. Hippos are the real ecosystem engineers of the wetlands across Tanzania. Through daily grazing, they prevent overgrowth along floodplains, while their dung deposits enrich the waterways: this organic matter fuels organisms, insects, and ultimately fish and bird populations higher up the food chain. This nutrient cycling keeps the wetlands functioning as one of the SNP’s most important ecosystems.

Research and preservation

The SNP protects designated hippo habitats such as the Retina Hippo Pool in Seronera. Here, visitors safely watch dozens of hippos interacting in the wild, and the revenue generated goes directly into habitat restoration, long term ecosystem monitoring and anti-poaching units. It is a powerful reminder that every visitor who enters the Serengeti directly funds its future. As the rangers often say, “Tourism isn’t just a privilege here, it's a lifeline”.

Beyond megafauna, the SNP is home to some of the longest-running and most influential ecological research projects on Earth. Decades-long studies on lions (including the Serengeti Lion Project, running continuous monitoring since 1966), hyenas, African wild dogs, fire ecology, and predator–prey dynamics have fundamentally shaped conservation science worldwide. These projects have helped us understand population cycles, disease transmission, genetic bottlenecks, and how large ecosystems respond to climate change and human pressure.

fire ecology and changing wildfire patterns

Within the Serengeti ecosystem, wildfires are a natural and essential component of the landscape. However, recent years have seen a dramatic (40%) reduction in number of fires, and area or land burnt. This might seem positive, but it poses a significant risk. The wildfires are crucial for preventing the encroachment of thorny scrub which preserves the open grasslands necessary for the Great Migration. The fires also promote nutritious grass growth as discussed in Blog 5, and control insect pests. The delicate balance of wildfire and

herbivory is being impacted by intensifying human pressures, such as expansion of agriculture. Heavy livestock grazing is also decreasing the spread and intensity of the fires. Alongside this, the reduction of wildfires is also making the ecosystem susceptible to alien, and invasive, plant species which further alter the ecosystem balance. Luckily, conservation efforts such as the Serengeti Fire Project deliberately set fire to the savannah area each year to encourage gras growth and reduce the impacts. Similar project are also undertaken from NGO’s like the Grumeti Fund, and are increasing year on year.

Increasing human–wildlife conflict along the park’s borders, climate-driven shifts in rainfall, invasive plant species, poaching pressures, and the growing demands of nearby communities continue to threaten wildlife movement, and habitat stability. The Mara River in particular, faces multiple cross-boundary threats that could affect the Great Migration itself — a reminder that even the world’s most iconic natural events are not guaranteed.

Ecotourism for protecting the Serengeti

Yet it is not all bad news. Despite these pressures, the Serengeti remains one of Earth's greatest conservation success stories. Tanzania is a global leader when it comes to wildlife conservation and is ever-expanding their network of protected areas. Strong governance under TANAPA, decades of scientific research, community partnerships, and ecotourism revenue, have created a model that many other protected areas strive to follow. A collaboration between the Frankfurts Zoological Society (FZS) and TANAPA has created the Serengeti Ecosystem Development and Conservation Project (SEDCP). This project

seeks to meet conservation goals with the developmental needs of the local communities in mind.

Alongside this, the Friends of Serengeti Program and Natural Habitat Adventures works with the Maasai on projects like dairy farming, to improve their income, and reducing pressure on the lands.

The Serengeti’s future depends not only on international policy or local enforcement, but on tourists, researchers, rangers, and communities choosing to value this landscape. In the end, protecting the Serengeti is about more than saving wildlife for the benefit of safaris. It is about safeguarding one of the last places on the planet where an ecosystem still works the way it was meant to: wild, moving, interconnected, and alive.

Want to revisit the iconic wildlife migrations of the Serengeti?

read here: Serengeti National Park

See why protecting this ecosystem is so critical:

Serengeti Biodiversity

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