The Mara River basin encompasses some of the world’s most unique ecosystems and human communities, tightly linked by their dependence on water from the Mara River. From its headwaters in Kenya, the Mara River flows through a mosaic of forests, tea fields, and croplands before entering Maasai pastoral lands. In this semi-arid landscape, human demands for water – especially for livestock and agriculture – run high and surface flows of the Mara River system are essential to meeting demands.