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Ngorongoro was declared a conservation area in
1959 and at that point it was separated from
the
Serengeti National Park. The Ngorongoro
Conservation Area Authority is the governing
body regulating use and access to the NCA. The
area became a
UNESCO
World Heritage Site in
1979.
Land in the conservation area is multi-use; it
is unique in Tanzania as the only conservation
area, providing protection status for wildlife
whilst allowing human habitation. As such land
use is controlled to prevent negative effects on
the wildlife population, for example cultivation
is prohibited at all but subsistence levels.
The area is part of the
Serengeti
ecosystem, and to the north-west it adjoins
the
Serengeti National Park and is contiguous
with the southern Serengeti plains, these plains
also extend to the north into unprotected
Loliondo division and are kept open to wildlife
through transhuman pastoralism practiced by
Maasai. The south and west of the area are
volcanic highlands, including the famous
Ngorongoro Crater and the lesser known Empakai.
The southern and eastern boundaries are
approximately defined by the rim of the
Great Rift Valley wall, which also prevents
animal migration in these directions.
The annual
ungulate
migration passes through the NCA, with
wildebeest and
zebra moving south into the area in December
and moving north in June. This movement changes
seasonally with the rains, but the migration
will traverse almost the entire plains in search
of food. The NCA has a healthy resident
population of most species of wildlife; in
particular the Ndutu Lake area to the west has a
strong
cheetah and
lion population. |
