The only people legally allowed into the protected areas of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem are park and reserve employees, paying tourists and scientists. However, wildlife is being exposed to growing numbers of people in their habitat as well as on the [L3 424 / borders of the ecosystem].
The growing populations along the boundaries of the protected areas are forcing wild animals into smaller areas. Elephants, driven from their habitats north and south of the Serengeti by human encroachment and hunting, emigrated to the woodlands of the Serengeti in the 1960s. Rapidly growing populations in Kenya and Tanzania will continue to cause loss of wildlife habitats, shifting animal populations as well as diminishing their numbers.
It is not certain what effect thousands of tourist have on the wildlife. What is certain is the revenue generated, the economic lifeline of the Serengeti region. Tourism not only pays for conservation and anti-poaching efforts, but it also makes the wildlife preserve economically viable. The region's wealth of wildlife is surrounded by human poverty. Tourism has brought some diversification to a largely poor pastoral economy.
A growing number of scientists are conducting research experiments through the Serengeti Wildlife Research Center at Seronera in the Serengeti National Park. They come from all over the world to study the ecosystem and the animals and plants within it. Many of their efforts have yielded valuable information on methods of preserving wildlife and have led to cooperative projects with [L3 425 / conservation organizations] from around the world interested in the survival of the Serengeti.
