National Parks and Reserves, concessions and conservancies – what’s the difference? When you’re planning your African safari you’ll no doubt have come across these terms. If you’re a bit confused about them, you’re not alone, so let’s discuss the differences.
Conservancies
Conservancies are generally found in Kenya, in East Africa. A conservancy is private land, leased from local tribes or community groups. Revenue from tourism is shared with the local community, funding essential services like schools, health clinics, and water supply, as well as wildlife conservation and ranger patrols. The number of beds and vehicles in these private conservancies are limited – usually restricted to one camp per 700 acres and no more than 2 vehicles at any game viewing.
Many of Kenya’s conservancies, which share unfenced boundaries with the famous national parks like Amboseli and Maasai Mara, are enjoying increasing wildlife numbers as the animals discover a safe and hassle-free environment outside the busy national parks. This not only reduces pressure on wildlife, but also delivers a much more exclusive experience for guests. The conservancies offer guided walks, night game drives and off-road driving as well as bush breakfasts, lunches and dinners. None of these activities are permitted in the national parks and reserves. With 65% of wildlife residing outside national parks and reserves, conservancies play a pivotal role in conservation efforts.
What it means for your safari:
Privacy, flexibility, and freedom to enjoy vast areas shared with a small number of visitors and few vehicles. Only guests staying in the camps on any conservancy have access to that conservancy. This gives a much more exclusive feel and eliminates the risk of wildlife being crowded by vehicles (it’s not uncommon to see 20-30 vehicles juggling for the best view at a big cat sighting in the Masai Mara Reserve). Walking safaris, night drives, horse riding, camel trekking, mountain biking, and even sleeping out under the stars are all possible. It is sometimes possible to visit conservation projects, meet the anti-poaching dogs and rangers on the frontline, or to visit a research group to learn more about their work.
Concessions
Concessions are predominantly found in Southern Africa – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, as well as Tanzania in East Africa. They are similar to the conservancies in Kenya, but the land is leased from the Government rather than from private landholders. The leaseholder is responsible for maintaining the land and they usually operate a private lodge or camp within the concession. These private concessions are not open to the public, allowing guests to enjoy a more exclusive safari experience than in a busy, and often congested, national park. Vehicles may drive off-road and at night, and walking safaris are often permitted. Many private concessions border National Parks or are indeed part of the national park. With no fences, animals can move freely between concessions and national parks and so your game viewing is not limited by staying in a private concession area.
In Tanzania all conserved land is owned by the government which allocates concessions to hunting companies in the Game Controlled areas outside the National Parks and Game Reserves. In contrast to Kenya, where trophy hunting was abolished in 1977, Tanzania continues to issue permits for trophy hunting, and within these hunting concessions some operators also offer photographic safaris. Some hunting blocks are now called ‘private concession areas’. These ‘private concession areas’ are controlled by the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (WMA) and they are not private. If you want to drive through these areas or game drive in one, you can – all you have to do is pay the WMA fees and show the receipt at the gate. However, if you want to stay overnight in one of these concessions you must stay in one of the private camps.
What it means for your safari:
Concessions offer privacy, flexibility, and freedom to enjoy vast areas shared with a small number of visitors and few vehicles. Off-roading is allowed with fewer vehicles to cause damage to the environment, and guided walks and night game drives are often offered. As leases are held by private companies looking for a return on investment, the economic benefits for wildlife and communities are likely to be less than in conservancies.
National Parks and Game Reserves
National Parks and Game Reserves are public land owned by the Government and provide habitat exclusively for wildlife, although illegal domestic livestock grazing is not unknown. National Parks, with well-known safari names such as Serengeti, Maasai Mara and Kruger, are magnificent wildlife havens which are open to the public. This means regulations within these parks are very strict and the activities that guests can enjoy in these parks is limited to on-road game drives. Vehicles are not allowed to drive off-road to get closer to the animals, and guests must be back in their lodgings by sunset, night game drives are not permitted. National Parks, most of which were created long before the relatively new conservancies and concessions, are home to some of Africa’s most iconic lodges and tented camps. Many of these are large and lack the intimacy of a small camp within a conservancy or concession. There are over 150 camps and lodges in Kenya’s famous Masai Mara National Reserve, and one luxury camp in the Reserve has 70+ tents…
What it means for your safari:
As these parks are open to the public the number of vehicles, both commercial and private, within the park at any given time, is considerable. They are popular with self-drive travellers and South African ‘self drivers’, often travelling in convoy, are frequently encountered in national parks in Namibia and Botswana. You can end up with a large number of vehicles jockeying for position at sightings of lion, leopard and rhino for example. This is in stark contrast to private concessions and conservancies, where the number of vehicles on a sighting at any one time is limited to 2 or 3. Such tight controls are not possible in the National Parks.
Summary
Overall, both National Parks and private conservancies provide exceptional opportunities to witness Africa’s incredible wildlife. However, private conservancies and concessions offer a more exclusive and personalised experience, along with additional activities, while still having access to the National Parks. Concessions and conservancies play a crucial role in protecting a larger portion of the ecosystem and provide a sustainable income source for the local communities. For the best safari experience, we highly recommend staying in private conservancies and concessions.
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