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Did U.S. Marriott Break Kenya's Environmental Laws?
One of the world’s greatest natural wonders is under threat. The Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya is an area of preserved savannah wilderness situated on ancestral land. Despite pleas from the Maasai people, a new Ritz-Carlton hotel was built there by US-owned Marriott International. The latter is now being sued by conservationists, who claim the $3,500-a-night luxury camp violates environmental laws and is harmful to wildlife. The resort sits on a key wildebeest crossing point during the Great Migration. Maasai leaders also argue that it encroaches on their livelihoods and way of life.
Wildlife corridors are not luxury playgrounds. They are lifelines for millions of animals, sustaining the delicate balance of ecosystems. Foreign corporations are turning them into exclusive enclaves, erasing animal pathways and sidelining the communities who have traditionally protected the lands they run through.
Moreover, as Australian vet and wildlife conservationist Chloe Buiting explains in this video, it looks like Marriott wasn't entirely honest when it submitted its plans to the Kenyan authorities.
Do you think the supposed trickle-down economic gains of such resorts are worth it? Should Africans tolerate it?
Credit: @jungle_doctor (IG)
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