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Kenya Believe It? - SAC Ecological Economics MSc Programme Field Trip
MSc group with Maasai (opens in new window)
There is nothing like experiencing the reality and seeing it for yourself!
After two semesters spent studying “resource conflicts” and the “emergence of environmental problems and their solutions”, the 26 students of the Ecological Economics Masters programme still felt a part of the puzzle was missing - but exactly what part was it? They got the answer on the traditional annual field trip to Kenya, organised by Programme Director Salman Hussain. For many students it was a revelation.
In the company of local environmental experts, the group were led from the seemingly endless wide spaces of the Massai Mara to the relatively enclosed Lake Nakuru National Park and on to Lake Naivasha with its thousands of hippos and which is also the centre of Kenya's flower farms. Serving amazing fresh and tasty food, the accommodation they stayed in proved as diverse as the environment. One lodge was sited right in the middle of the hippos' grazing grounds. Any wandering around after sunset required caution!
In the middle of one of the most beautiful locations on earth, the group saw at first hand the challenges of environmental conflicts and preservation work. Harmonising nature’s needs with the demand for economic development and demographic growth is not easy. The complexity of the issues was illustrated by listening to the different positions of stakeholders caught up in problems around property rights. It highlighted how difficult it can be to apply academic concepts to real world conflicts and added an entirely new dimension to what the students had studied for the previous 7 months.
The group found another kind of conflict solution was required when a massive two-ton elephant headed straight towards their vehicle. An attempt to give the elephant the right of way got the truck stuck firmly in the rain-soaked path of the Mara. This presented not only a challenge for the worried students and driver, but also an unforgettable sunset over the African veldt.
For the students from over a dozen different countries, many of them visiting sub-Saharan Africa for the first time, the visit delivered far more than a study programme. As well as precious memories of stunning landscapes, impressive animals and the many Massai tribes in an amazing region, the game drives and Tusker-beer nights strengthened and developed friendships with fellow classmates which are bound to prevail well beyond the Masters experience.