Maasai in Tanzania displaced for nature conservation

In December 2023 – the same month as Maasai lawyer Joseph Oleshangay received the Human Rights Prize from the City of Weimar, Germany (see news item) – the Germany-based Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (Society for Threatened Peoples) issued a 50-page report in German on “Die Maasai in Tansania: gewaltsam vertrieben für den Naturschutz” (The Maasai in Tanzania: forcibly displaced for nature conservation). It describes the historical background to and the current situation regarding the expulsion of Maasai pastoralists in northern Tanzania to make way for the establishment and expansion of nature reserves – including the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This report – based on interviews with Maasai, including Joseph Oleshangay – highlights especially the involvement of the Frankfurt Zoological Society and German development cooperation projects in the displacement of Maasai pastoralists and thus in the violation of their human rights.

An English translation of the report will soon be forthcoming.

Posted on 8 February 2024 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralism, Policy & Power, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition