Conservation and Concerns at Ngorongoro Crater

I hate to be a debbie downer, but two of the happiest stories in the news—the 40th anniversary of Earth Day next week and the World Cup in South Africa in June—have been reminding me that things may not be looking up for one of my favorite places: Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater.

The crater is the world's largest intact caldera, the historic home of Tanzania’s Masai people, and a natural enclosure renowned for its dense population of wildlife. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s been under scrutiny from UNESCO since 2007 as the area has struggled to maintain a balance between conservation and development. Ngorongoro Crater already spent time on UNESCO’s danger list from 1984 to 1989, and the notable increase in safari vehicles since then means it could appear on the list again.

In fact, crater tourism could hit an all-time high this summer: Tanzania has launched a campaign to lure World Cup visitors up from South Africa, and Ngorongoro Crater is among the country’s biggest draws.

I spent a day in the crater in July of 2008, and even then, the mass of vehicles was astonishing; tourists were much more concentrated, and seemingly arriving in much greater numbers, than in any other Tanzania park I visited. Here are a few photographs I managed to take despite the crowds—and here’s hoping the crater can flourish in the face of increased tourism demands to delight generations of visitors to come.