By David Western

ACP has studied the frequency and impact of drought in Amboseli over the past 47 years. Western began writing about the deepening threat of drought in the national press in 2000, in what he dubbed the millennial drought. By then wildlife and livestock numbers in Amboseli and across Kenya were in decline due to shrinking range and degrading pastures, leading to a large scale collapse populations in 2009. The Worst Drought published in Swara detailed the collapse in Amboseli  http://www.amboseliconservation.org/storage/Amboseli%20Drought%202009%20Swara.pdf . A further article in Scidev.net based on the long-term studies of ACP in Amboseli looked at the wider implications in the Horn of Africa.

http://www.scidev.net/global/desert-science/opinion/better-grazing-practices-hold-key-to-kenyan-droughts.html. ACP has continued to track the aftermath of the drought in Amboseli (here refer to last update). The NASA Goddard Centre in Washington DC expressed interest in collaborating with ACP to calibrate satellite imagery against the Amboseli monitoring data through the drought period.

The preliminary finding show the prospects of coupling high tech satellite imagery with the low tech ground measurements of pasture and grazing David Maitumo conducts in Amboseli each month.

http://www.earthzine.org/2013/07/22/tracking-vegetation-changes-in-kenyas-amboseli-national-park/

By David (Jonah) Western

October 6, 2026

Last week saw the worst fires in years envelop Kilimanjaro.

By David (Jonah) Western

September 25, 2026

The extensive flooding in March of 2026 caused the closure of the Amboseli airstrip.

By Victor N. Mose

September 23, 2026

Herders from Amboseli, who are members of a community visited JKUAT.

Drought in the Amboseli Ecosystem

Authored by : David Western
Posted on July 11, 2013

ACP has studied the frequency and impact of drought in Amboseli over the past 47 years. Western began writing about the deepening threat of drought in the national press in 2000, in what he dubbed the millennial drought. By then wildlife and livestock numbers in Amboseli and across Kenya were in decline due to shrinking range and degrading pastures, leading to a large scale collapse populations in 2009. The Worst Drought published in Swara detailed the collapse in Amboseli  http://www.amboseliconservation.org/storage/Amboseli%20Drought%202009%20Swara.pdf . A further article in Scidev.net based on the long-term studies of ACP in Amboseli looked at the wider implications in the Horn of Africa.

http://www.scidev.net/global/desert-science/opinion/better-grazing-practices-hold-key-to-kenyan-droughts.html. ACP has continued to track the aftermath of the drought in Amboseli (here refer to last update). The NASA Goddard Centre in Washington DC expressed interest in collaborating with ACP to calibrate satellite imagery against the Amboseli monitoring data through the drought period.

The preliminary finding show the prospects of coupling high tech satellite imagery with the low tech ground measurements of pasture and grazing David Maitumo conducts in Amboseli each month.

http://www.earthzine.org/2013/07/22/tracking-vegetation-changes-in-kenyas-amboseli-national-park/

By David Western

ACP has studied the frequency and impact of drought in Amboseli over the past 47 years. Western began writing about the deepening threat of drought in the national press in 2000, in what he dubbed the millennial drought. By then wildlife and livestock numbers in Amboseli and across Kenya were in decline due to shrinking range and degrading pastures, leading to a large scale collapse populations in 2009. The Worst Drought published in Swara detailed the collapse in Amboseli  http://www.amboseliconservation.org/storage/Amboseli%20Drought%202009%20Swara.pdf . A further article in Scidev.net based on the long-term studies of ACP in Amboseli looked at the wider implications in the Horn of Africa.

http://www.scidev.net/global/desert-science/opinion/better-grazing-practices-hold-key-to-kenyan-droughts.html. ACP has continued to track the aftermath of the drought in Amboseli (here refer to last update). The NASA Goddard Centre in Washington DC expressed interest in collaborating with ACP to calibrate satellite imagery against the Amboseli monitoring data through the drought period.

The preliminary finding show the prospects of coupling high tech satellite imagery with the low tech ground measurements of pasture and grazing David Maitumo conducts in Amboseli each month.

http://www.earthzine.org/2013/07/22/tracking-vegetation-changes-in-kenyas-amboseli-national-park/

By David (Jonah) Western

October 6, 2026

Last week saw the worst fires in years envelop Kilimanjaro.

By David (Jonah) Western

September 25, 2026

The extensive flooding in March of 2026 caused the closure of the Amboseli airstrip.

By Victor N. Mose

September 23, 2026

Herders from Amboseli, who are members of a community visited JKUAT.

Posted on July 11, 2013

By David Western

ACP has studied the frequency and impact of drought in Amboseli over the past 47 years. Western began writing about the deepening threat of drought in the national press in 2000, in what he dubbed the millennial drought. By then wildlife and livestock numbers in Amboseli and across Kenya were in decline due to shrinking range and degrading pastures, leading to a large scale collapse populations in 2009. The Worst Drought published in Swara detailed the collapse in Amboseli  http://www.amboseliconservation.org/storage/Amboseli%20Drought%202009%20Swara.pdf . A further article in Scidev.net based on the long-term studies of ACP in Amboseli looked at the wider implications in the Horn of Africa.

http://www.scidev.net/global/desert-science/opinion/better-grazing-practices-hold-key-to-kenyan-droughts.html. ACP has continued to track the aftermath of the drought in Amboseli (here refer to last update). The NASA Goddard Centre in Washington DC expressed interest in collaborating with ACP to calibrate satellite imagery against the Amboseli monitoring data through the drought period.

The preliminary finding show the prospects of coupling high tech satellite imagery with the low tech ground measurements of pasture and grazing David Maitumo conducts in Amboseli each month.

http://www.earthzine.org/2013/07/22/tracking-vegetation-changes-in-kenyas-amboseli-national-park/

Recent Posts

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Six decades on from studying the ecology of Amboseli, I wrote in We Alone. How Humans Have Conquered the Planet.

By David (Jonah) Western

October 6, 2026

Last week saw the worst fires in years envelop Kilimanjaro.

By David (Jonah) Western

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The extensive flooding in March of 2026 caused the closure of the Amboseli airstrip.

By Victor N. Mose

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By Dr. David Jonah Western

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By David Western, Victor N. Mose*, David Maitumo, Winfridah Kemunto, Sakimba Kimiti, Immaculate Ombongi, Samuel Lekanaiya, Paul Kasaine and Sunte Kimiti

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Fireworks displaying EU–Kenya relations rocked the skyline in Loresho at Shamba Café, lighting up the evening sky

By Victor N. Mose

May 22, 2026

Herders in Amboseli gathered under the shade of an acacia tree for a parliamentary style debate on co-production.

Contact Us

Amboseli Conservation Program
P.O Box 15289-00509 or 62844-00200
Nairobi, Kenya.

Tel/Fax: +254 20 891360 / 891751
Email: acc@acc.or.ke