Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses recent decisions by the Government of Tanzania against Maasai pastoralists in Ngorongoro, including relocation of those who cohabit with wild animals in the NCA world heritage site. It enquires on how the decisions were reached by paying attention to the principle of FPIC.

Paper long abstract:

The Ngorongoro district (with its divisions of Loliondo, Ngorongoro and Sale) has experienced land use conflicts for several decades emanating from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and the recently renamed Pololeti Game Controlled Area. The NCA is famous worldwide and it has been categorized as the world heritage site for inhabiting a variety of fauna and flora and the cohabitation of wildlife species together with livestock and human beings. Insights of empirical data on the Ngorongoro conflict have established the adoption two major decisions that are being implemented by the government of Tanzania namely relocating Maasai from their ancestral land for which they have a legal claim; and the proposal by the Multiple Land Use Management Review Panel for the alteration of the NCA boundaries, a move that will affect more pastoral communities even in other districts. These decisions are guided by the mainstream bioeconomy narrative and fortress conservation, instead of broad consultations with the potential victims of the decisions. Moreover, the relocation exercise is not guided by the principle of free, prior, and informed consent. It is concluded that, these decisions deny the communities the right to participate in the conservation processes. An attempt to relocate or to forcefully change the lifestyle of pastoral communities is likened to fitting a round peg into a square hole, which is likely to leave behind horrendous socio-economic and cultural ramifications.