IMAS -- Integrated Management and Assessment

The IMAS system is composed of several methods used to understand ecosystem management. These methods are being worked-on by IMAS team members as a series of projects, which are shown below. Follow the links to learn more.

Savanna Modeling of Ngorongoro Conservation Area: "How would increasing livestock numbers affect wildlife? What are the best locations for new water sources?" The Savanna ecosystem model is being used to help land managers assess these questions and others for Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Wildlife/Livestock Disease Modeling: Disease is thought to be a major factor limiting livestock numbers in northeastern Tanzania and southeastern Kenya. We are modeling the spread of disease amongst livestock and from wildlife to livestock.
Socio-economic Modeling: Pastoralists manage their herds considering grazing conditions, livestock sale prices, water availability, and a host of other considerations. We are modeling the major factors affecting these decisions.
Human Ecological Field Research: Research is being conducted to determine pastoralist nutrition and welfare, demography and healt, land use patterns, and land holdings.
Range Ecological Research in NCA: Analyses are being conducted to characterize forage availability and conditions. Species composition and biomass are being related to satellite measures of greenness, for example.
Ecological Field Research in Kenya: A suite of field research projects are underway in Kenya, including studies of forage availability in Kiboko, wildlife distributions and human land use in Kajiado, and wildlife use of the area surrounding Amboseli National Park.
Kajiado GIS and Remote Sensing: A comprehensive set of layers for use in a geographic information system are being compiled for Kajiado District, Kenya, including maps of land use and land cover, derived from remotely-sensed data.
Savanna Modeling of the Amboseli National Park region: Humans moving nearer to Amboseli National Park, and wildlife moving from the park into other parts of Kajiado District, are affecting the ecosystem. We are creating an ecosystem model using Savanna to help assess management questions.