LOLIONDO, Tanzania
In a desperate bid to curb increasing human activities at one of UNESCO’s cultural heritage sites, authorities in Tanzania are planning to review a controversial law allowing a multiple land use system in the northern Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), ostensibly to protect wildlife sanctuaries.
The NCA, which is sprawled across a wide expanse of highland plains and savanna woodlands dotted with wild animals, is a multiple land-use area with wildlife coexisting with semi-nomadic Maasai herders who practice traditional livestock grazing.
The area, known worldwide as a home to the Maasai, is rich in plants and endangered animal species, including black rhinoceroses, as well as a breathtaking dry season migration of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles into the northern plains.
Damas Ndumbaro, Tanzania’s minister of natural resources and tourism, told parliament last week that the government is planning to review the Ngorongoro Conservation Act of 1975 because it no longer suits the purposes for which it was meant.
The controversial law gives the state-owned Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) the power to oversee conservation and develop natural resources, promote tourism and safeguard the interests of Maasai pastoralists who engage in cattle ranching and the dairy industry within the area.
However, human rights groups say the government’s move to review the law will technically halt the traditional land-use system, paving the way for the eviction of over 80,000 Maasai pastoralists.
Human rights campaigners have accused the government of using every ploy to justify the eviction of Maasai people from their ancestral land under the guise of wildlife conservation.
But Ndumbaro has denied such land grabbing claims.
“One of the things that is being said is that the government wants to grab Maasai land. Let me state it clearly: Nobody owns land in Tanzania. All the land belongs to the state, and the president is the sole custodian on behalf of the people,” he told parliament.
The land conflict in the disputed Ngorongoro area has been raging for decades now. The Maasai pastoralists, who moved into the Ngorongoro and Loliondo areas from Serengeti National Park, claim they had been promised that they would never again be relocated.
However, since 1992, the ethnic group in Ngorongoro, who resides on roughly 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 miles) of land, has been living in constant fear as authorities repeatedly threaten to evict them. In April 2021, local residents in Ngorongoro claimed they had been told by authorities to prepare to move out of the district.
However, in his statement, Ndumbaro allayed such fears, saying there are no such plans to evict the Maasai in Ngorongoro.
Surprisingly, the minister defended a smear campaign in the local media accusing the Maasai of destroying the environment and wildlife habitats.
“Anyone who’s genuinely dissatisfied with the news coverage about the situation in Ngorongoro can present their complaints to the relevant authorities,” he said.
Erick Kabendera, a prominent Tanzanian investigative journalist, strongly criticized fellow journalists who blindly support the eviction of Maasai from their ancestral land.
“Local media touting cultural xenophobia narratives need to appreciate other communities’ cultures before exposing their ignorance,” Kabendera tweeted.
Meanwhile, human rights campaigners have opposed a directive issued by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, who instructed the Ministry of Tourism and its related institutions to conduct an awareness campaign to educate legislators about the history of Ngorongoro.
In their joint statement issued last week, the campaigners said the government order goes against principles of dispensing justice because the ministry is part of the dispute.
They advised the government to recruit independent observers including human rights campaigners and the people of Ngorongoro to raise awareness about the real situation to avoid sharing biased information.
“We insist this conflict must be carefully resolved in a participatory way by involving the Maasai people, who are the main victims,” the group said in a statement.
The group acknowledged the need for sustainable conservation in Ngorongoro but asked for a clear explanation from the government on why Maasai communities who have been living among the wildlife are being perceived as a nuisance.
They called on the government to abandon its plans to evict Maasai communities in Ngorongoro and Loliondo because doing so will inflict great pain and suffering on the impoverished communities.
Speaking at a public rally with Maasai traditional leaders and other stakeholders this week, Prime Minister Majaliwa allayed eviction fears, saying the government recognizes the Maasai people in Ngorongoro and their role as natural conservators of natural resources.
“As native people, you’ve made an immense contribution to the protection of natural resources for many years. We recognize your role in conserving nature,” he said.
Majaliwa hailed the Maasai people for their innate ability to co-exist with wildlife.
He said that based on the opinions given by various stakeholders, the government is working on the best way to safeguard the wider national interest in the Ngorongoro area
The prime minister said the government is determined to improve the tourism sector in Ngorongoro by involving local people.
“We have all seen an increase in the human and livestock population in Ngorongoro. If we do not take appropriate actions, our parks will suffer,” Majaliwa said. “This is a tourism area. We must decide whether or not we don’t want tourism.”
Emmanuel Lekshoni Shangai, a legislator from Ngorongoro, has urged the government to recognize the legal status of Maasai herders in Ngorongoro and Loliondo who have become victims of persecution.
He decried the government’s move to take away 1,500 square kilometers (579 square miles) of land in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area.
“More than 73,000 people depend on this area. They co-exist with wild animals, as it has always been in the past,” he said.
