Five years ago, Tanzanian authorities set out to push the Indigenous Maasai off their ancestral lands in the famed Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Despite global outcry over the forced removals, this month two presidential commissions called for the evictions to continue, citing the need to protect wildlife.
The commissions, established by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to assess disputes over land in the conservation area, describes the Maasai as an “environmental pressure” and calls for the “relocation” of “non-conservation activities.”
“These recommendations give the green light to more evictions,“ said Caroline Pearce, head of the watchdog group Survival International, who described the commissions as “a gimmick designed to give Tanzania’s violent persecution of the Maasai a veneer of respectability.” Hassan has said she will act on the recommendations.
When the Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established in 1959, the Maasai were promised they would be able to continue to live and raise cattle on their lands. While the Tanzanian government has cited the Maasai for their “outstanding significance for effective conservation,” it has in recent years moved to evict the Maasai from the conservation area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has become a popular draw for tourists.
UNESCO has given some justification for these efforts, saying that the “Maasai population and the number of cattle should remain within the capacity of the property.” The Tanzanian government has interpreted such comments to support the relocation of the Maasai.
Since 2021, Tanzanian officials have sought to reduce the number of schools, health centers, and other essential services in the area, while limiting access to grazing areas, in an effort to motivate Maasai to leave. Maasai have also reported arrests, torture, and the theft of their cattle. While the government has described the resulting relocations as “voluntary,” its moves have sparked intense public backlash and led to mass protests by the Maasai in 2024.
Anuradha Mittal, head of the Oakland Institute, a think tank, believes the presidential commissions “were tasked with rubber stamping the government’s plans to evict the Indigenous Maasai so their land can be a safari and hunting playground for the rich foreign tourists.” Both commissions were dominated by government officials and included few Maasai, according to the group.
A Maasai elder said that the recommendations “are based on outright lies about the environmental impacts of the Maasai, while completely ignoring the real damage caused by rapid tourism expansion.” He told the Oakland Institute that if recommendations are implemented, “it will be the end of our people in Ngorongoro.”
After the commissions submitted their recommendations, park rangers reportedly began harassing Maasai in part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Three community members were allegedly beaten and arrested, while others were given eviction notices.
The moves come despite growing evidence the Indigenous people can be effective stewards of wildlife. In Tanzania alone, an area equal to seven Yellowstones is managed for wildlife by herders, farmers, and hunter-gatherers.
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