Sustaining indigenous Maasai Alalili silvo-pastoral conservation systems for improved community livelihood and biodiversity conservation in East African rangelands

Milanga is practiced by Gogo, Radanenda is practiced by Barbaig while Alalili is practiced by Maasai pastoral communities [5, 16, 23, 41, 42]. Although the indigenous Maasai Alalili silvo-pastoral conservation systems have been suc- cessful in the past depicting its long-term historical benefits within rangelands and ecosystem resources, its practice as a resilience back-up to rangeland degradation is not fully optimized [2, 3, 22]. The reduction in its practices is exacerbated by increased human and livestock popu- lation, socio-cultural transformations, changes in land tenure, and unpredictable land use and climate changes [8, 43, 44]. In addition, these socio-cultural changes and extreme events have accelerated the degradation of rangelands, making biodiversity, livelihoods, and ecosystems more threatened; this has pushed for more proactive measures in response to these pressures including relocating vulnerable pastoral communities in the Ngorongoro district to a much less degraded but more productive rangeland for livestock and settlement [12, 43]. Despite the importance of the Maasai Alalili silvo-pastoral conservation and management systems, their little recognition in literature and under-representation in the existing policies and regulatory frameworks might undermine their utility and importance in rangeland management prac- tices, thus, threatening their value and sustainability in resilience management [1, 5, 17]. Addi- tionally, Alalili practices are in the blink of extinction, as Maasai societies in most areas are in

transition with respect to continuous socio-cultural transformation [17, 45–47]. A proven mis- connection in the transmission of this traditional heritage from elders to the younger genera- tion, who are gradually shifting to other economic activities in cities such as decorative saloons and security guards, exposes Alalili to encroachment threats [3, 5, 12]. The indeterminate decrease in size and abundance of Alalili systems, depicting their possible decline across the Maasai rangeland areas of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, has been recently reported by rangeland ecosystem management stakeholders [22, 44, 48]. In the face of this, there is a need to have them documented and understand their current status that can be used as a potential pathway to promote both sustainable conservation of biodiversity and community resilience and livelihood development across Maasai land. This study provides information on the status of types, size, and distribution of Alalili in different land use systems across the rangeland of northern Tanzania. It provides useful recommendations utilized as a means to guide communities and other stakeholders toward the preservation and practice of this impor- tant heritage and how these can be sustained in the rapidly changing and uncertain world of the Anthropocene. Therefore, being conducted for the first time, this study aimed to capture and document the potential Alalili silvo-pastoral conservation systems available in rangelands located within or adjacent to different land uses of northern Tanzania. Also, the study explored the livestock

herd size featuring the surveyed Alalili systems and its relationship across size and age of Alalili systems to initiate future studies in the determination of biomass and stocking rate. This was achieved so that they can be promoted as a pathway to improve the resilience of pastures and sustain both biodiversity conservation and community livelihoods in rangeland areas. 2. Methods 2.1 Description of the study area The study was conducted in Maasai pastoral society across the regions of northern Tanzania, located between 2˚12’04’’ and 5˚56’29’’ South and 36˚11’43’’ and 36˚51’30’’ East covering five sampled Districts. These included Longido, Monduli, and Ngorongoro districts for the Arusha region as well as Simanjiro and Kiteto districts for the Manyara region (Fig 1). The area is within the East African rift system, and its landscape lies at an elevation ranging between 659 and 2,123 m above sea level characterized by the highest mean monthly temperature of 33˚C, PLOS ONE Sustaining Alalili systems in rangelands of East Africa PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303649 May 16, 2024 3 / 24