Indigenous environmental human rights defenders in Tanzania are calling for a rights-based approach to conservation as Maasai communities continue to face restrictions, displacement pressures, and loss of access to ancestral lands in Ngorongoro and Loliondo. Maasai activist Nailejileji Asia Tipap says conservation policies are increasingly being implemented without meaningful community consent, threatening traditional livelihoods, cultural identity, and intergenerational knowledge.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, established in 1959, is internationally recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve, and Global Geopark. However, around 100,000 Maasai people live in the area, and Indigenous defenders argue that major conservation decisions affecting them have been made without Free, Prior and Informed Consent. The situation intensified in 2022 when Tanzanian authorities converted 1,500 square kilometres of Maasai village land into the Pololeti Game Reserve, triggering clashes and ongoing disputes over access, livestock, and land rights.
According to Tipap and other defenders, conservation is being used as a justification for restricting Maasai communities while tourism, mining, and investment interests expand in the same areas. She points to the construction of hotels near water sources and culturally significant sites as evidence that conservation rules are not being applied equally. Community members also report that social services have been reduced and movement into Ngorongoro has become increasingly controlled, making relocation appear less voluntary than officially described.
Human rights defenders say environmental governance in Tanzania is becoming more difficult due to surveillance, harassment, arbitrary arrests, forced displacement, and the criminalisation of communities opposing conservation or extractive projects. Indigenous peoples, pastoralists, women, and youth face particular risks, especially when they challenge land-use decisions or demand accountability. Although Tanzania has legal and international frameworks supporting environmental rights, defenders argue that a human rights-based approach is still missing in practice.
In response to these challenges, Indigenous activists and environmental defenders are building stronger networks for advocacy and protection. Tipap co-founded Indigenous Women Development Affairs to preserve local ecological knowledge and support land rights defenders. She has also helped establish the Tanzania Environmental Governance Alliance, a national coalition created to give environmental land rights defenders a platform to coordinate, share experiences, and advocate on issues affecting Indigenous peoples, land, conservation, and extractive industries.
UN Human Rights’ Multi-Country Office for East Africa has supported environmental defenders in Tanzania by helping connect them with regional networks, including defenders in Kenya and Uganda. These cross-border connections became especially important during Tanzania’s 2025 general elections, when some defenders faced heightened risks and needed practical support. With UN support, Tanzanian defenders later formed TEGA, which was officially registered in April 2026 and now has legal status.
For Maasai defenders like Tipap, the struggle is not against development but against models of conservation and investment that exclude Indigenous communities from decisions about their own land. She argues that Maasai communities have long protected the environment and should be recognised as custodians rather than treated as obstacles. Their call is for conservation that protects both nature and human rights, ensuring that future generations can inherit their land, culture, and environment.
