Kenya: Masai Mara
Score: 53

This park inhabited by the Maasai people "remains a jewel." Summer wildlife migrations are "the greatest show on Earth!" Poaching is down and conditions for the Maasai are improving,but safari vehicles tear up the land and "wildlife populations have declined by about 60 percent in 30 years."

Here is a representative sampling of additional anonymous comments from the panelists. They are not necessarily the views of the National Geographic Society:

"Poaching is down and conservation is up, with new biogas fueling for the Maasai huts, so women don't have to walk for hours scouring the land for firewood. Children are finally getting a proper education, with many of the brighter Maasai continuing their education in Nairobi. They're also learning the importance of wildlife viewing. Numbers of visitors at the park are still high, but they're talking about having limits."

"Relatively quiet when I was there, but any sighting of one of the Big Five animals quickly attracted numerous vans and jeeps. The local Maasai village we visited seemed well-equipped to both teach visitors about the culture and maintain reasonable distance from it."

"Something of a mixed bag. There are incredible environmental, ecological, social, and aesthetic assets. In some areas of the Mara these are fairly well protected, in others—especially close to the more mass-tourism accommodation facilities—there is significant degradation of the social and ecological integrity of the area."

"While the Mara has an abundance of most wildlife species found in Kenya, it is under immense threat from uncontrolled tourism numbers and related development. Corruption in the local council over use of revenues from the park gives rise to ill feeling among the surrounding communities. The major water source, the Ewaso Nyiro River, is fast drying up due to deforestation."