Nature reserves attract humans, but at a cost to biodiversity

During periods of excessive drought, local herders in northern Kenya, such as the woman shown here at the Samburu National Reserve, are allowed access to protected areas, where livestock will share scarce water with elephants and other wildlife. During two recent droughts, 60 percent of cattle in this primarily pastoral region died, but herding communities on the borders of Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves fared far better as a result of their legal access to parklands. Credit: George Wittemyer photo