Editing Serengeti National Park (section)

== Threats ==
Deforestation in the [[Mau Forest]] region has changed the hydrology of the Mara River.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |author=Conniff, R. |date=2015 |title=A New Threat in the Serengeti to the World's Greatest Animal Migration |url=http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/03/06/serengeti-wildebeest-migration-highway-poachers |access-date=23 May 2021 |magazine=Take Part |archive-date=27 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127091501/http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/03/06/serengeti-wildebeest-migration-highway-poachers/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> There are [[invasive species]] of plants such as [[Siam weed]], [[Opuntia|Prickly pear]], [[Feverfew]] and [[Mexican sunflower]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Conservation|url=https://grumetifund.org/our-work/conservation/|access-date=26 May 2021|website=Grumeti Fund|language=en-ZA}}</ref> A study in 1996 estimated that the human population of the western side of the park is growing by four percent yearly.<ref name=":1" /> Livestock use is also growing which increased the amount of land turned over to farming and ranching. A study by the [[World Conservation Monitoring Centre]] in 2001 estimated that roughly 200,000 animals are killed by poaching every year.<ref name=":1" />

Between 2005 and 2012 the government considered building a 452-km highway through the park, a proposal revived in 2024. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-16 |title=Tanzania revives plan to tarmac highway through Serengeti |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/tanzania-revives-plan-to-tarmac-highway-through-serengeti-4558236 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=The EastAfrican |language=en}}</ref> The idea sparked significant controversy. Advocates argued that the road would improve connectivity and alleviate poverty in northern Tanzania, while conservationists warn of severe ecological impacts, including disruption of the wildebeest migration and potential ecosystem collapse. Alternatives, such as southern routes bypassing the park, have been proposed as less harmful options that could benefit more people while preserving the park's integrity. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hopcraft |first=J. Grant C. |last2=Mduma |first2=Simon A. R. |last3=Borner |first3=Markus |last4=Bigurube |first4=Gerald |last5=Kijazi |first5=Alain |last6=Haydon |first6=Daniel T. |last7=Wakilema |first7=William |last8=Rentsch |first8=Dennis |last9=Sinclair |first9=A.R.E. |last10=Dobson |first10=Andrew |last11=Lembeli |first11=James Daudi |date=2015 |title=Conservation and economic benefits of a road around the Serengeti |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24483125 |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=932–936 |issn=0888-8892}}</ref>