Thousands of Maasai herders from Tanzania are at imminent risk of eviction from their ancestral lands to make way for government plans to develop the area for tourism.

At least 20,000 Maasai herders, known for their beaded jewelry and plaid shawls, received a notice earlier this year to leave their homes on land surrounding the Kilimanjaro International Airport where an expansion project is under way, said Edward Porokwa. The Maasai elder and lawyer from the PINGOS Forum, a coalition of indigenous peoples’ organizations, was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.

A further 43,000 Maasai received notices in January banning them from construction or growing crops on their land in Tanzania’s Same district close to Mount Kilimanjaro, to allow for a wildlife corridor.

The orders are the latest chapter in a long-simmering conflict involving the Maasai, the Tanzanian government and foreign companies looking to invest in the country’s tourism sector, which brings in billions of dollars every year.

In 2022, violence erupted between the Maasai, police, military and park rangers in the village of Ololosokwan, which sits in the Great Rift Valley adjacent to Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, where a company called Otterlo Business Corp. operates hunting trips in the area for royals from the Emirates.

“We have a serious problem that our lands are again at threat paving the way for luxury tourism, trophy hunting and carbon credit schemes,” Porokwa said.

He said there are hundreds of thousands of Maasai still living inside parts of Tanzania earmarked for development. Some of the entities the Maasai say fuel evictions include the US Agency for International Development, which funds local conservation projects, and Blue Carbon, a company chaired by the Emirati royal Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum.

USAID said it doesn’t back resettlement interventions and that wildlife corridors it supports are locally led and based on village and district level land-use plans.

Blue Carbon and the Tanzanian government signed an agreement last year to “promote sustainable forest management practices” and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through carbon offset projects. The company has said it plans to preserve the forest and engage local communities.

‘No Forced Eviction’

Blue Carbon did not immediately respond to questions about evictions in northern Tanzania. Mobhare Matinyi, a government spokesperson, said there is “no forced eviction taking place anywhere in Tanzania.”

Instead, he said, the government has a voluntary relocation program that provides Maasai with compensation, a newly-built home and 5 acres (2 hectares) of farmland. The government also gives 18-months’ worth of grain for food, water for livestock and transportation to move belongings, Matinyi said.

He said the government had so far relocated 1,195 households comprising of 7,378 individuals and 33,062 livestock and that the end goal is to relocate about 10,000 households or 115,000 people.

Upendo Oloodo Siria said he was recently evicted from Hai District close to Kilimanjaro, after security forces stormed his village with tear gas in December.

“There are many people facing the same challenge and same problem,” he said.

Bloomberg

The orders are the latest chapter in a conflict involving the Maasai, Tanzanian government and foreign companies looking to invest in the country’s tourism sector. Photographer: Ivan Gonzalez/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Tanzania’s Maasai Pressured to Make Way for Safaris, Airport