Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) extends over some 8,000 km2 in the northern Tanzania. It is bordered on the west by Serengeti National Park and by the Rift Valley escarpment on the east. To the south lies the agricultural community of Karatu and to the north lie the rugged Ildonyo Oogol mountains. The renowned Ngorongoro Crater is an area of 250km2 Caldera of an extinct volcano and is the focus of the NCA's administration and tourism. The average height of the rim is about 2,317m and of the floor 1,707m giving a depth of 610m with a diameter ranging between 16km and 19km. Ngorongoro Crater is the 6th largest Caldera in the world; but it is the largest unflooded unbroken Caldera in the world.

The present NCA was originally gazetted as part of the Serengeti National Park in 1951 in order to conserve its natural resources, namely flora, fauna and archaeological values. In 1959, based on the Grzimeks' migration studies, the borders of the Serengeti National Park were redefined. The Ngorongoro Crater and its surroundings were separated from the National Park and designated a Conservation Area by the Ngorongoro Conservation Ordinance. This ordinance established the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority (NCAA) whose main functions are the conservation and development of the NCA's natural resources and the promotion of the interests of its pastoral residents.

The area is a crucial part of the Serengeti ecosystem, supporting both large resident populations of wildlife and the majority of the migratory species during the wet season. In addition, the forests of the highland areas are a vital water catchment for the surrounding, densely settled agricultural lands. Today, about 30,000 Maasai pastoralists reside within the NCA, together with their herds of cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys.

The rights of all Maasai pastoralists who lived in the area when it was set up as a National Park in June 1951 were safeguarded. However, no other Maasai were allowed to move in and any increase of their livestock was prohibited. No cultivation whatsoever is allowed within and around the Ngorongoro Crater and all Maasai involved in cultivation had to move out of the area.

The administration of the conservation area, whose objective is to maintain a steady balance between wildlife conservation and human interests, was based on three assumptions: firstly, that the Maasai would remain pastoral and not settle and adopt cultivation; secondly, that the pastoralism of the Maasai would continue to be traditional and extensive instead of becoming modern and intensive; and thirdly that enforced restriction against cultivation and settlement would in effect discourage such activity. The concept was that the pastoralists who have helped to shape the present ecosystem may continue their way of life in the area.

In recognition of its international significance, Ngorongoro has been made both a world heritage site and a biosphere reserve. However, land use pressure within and adjacent to the NCA are growing and there is escalating conflict between the interests of conservation and the development needs of the pastoralist Maasai people.

The Ngorongoro Crater, often referred to as the "Eighth Wonder", is one of Tanzania's major tourist attractions. Today, there are four main tourist lodges with several campsites on the crater rim.