ILC Africa is calling on the Government of the Republic of Tanzania to stop the planned eviction of more than 73,000 Indigenous Peoples from Loliondo, and about 90,000 in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Republic of Tanzania
The International Land Coalition-Africa (ILC Africa) is the Africa regional platform of the International Land Coalition , a global alliance of over 300 civil society and intergovernmental organizations working together to put people at the centre of land governance. ILC-Africa is calling on the Government of the Republic of Tanzania to stop the planned eviction of more than 73,000 Indigenous Peoples from Loliondo, and about 90,000 in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the Republic of Tanzania.
Two appeals to the President
ILC-Africa recalls that in the first appeal to President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the United Republic of Tanzania by our members, the National Land Coalition in Tanzania urged her excellency to, “Revoke the eviction order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, and ensure the respect and protection of indigenous pastoral communities’ rights to life, livelihood and cultural integrity,” our members said.
ILC-Africa is saddened to learn that at least 45 indigenous pastoralists have been issued a 30-day eviction notice by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority. Authorities claim the operation is aimed at wildlife preservation.
However, the second appeal by our members in Tanzania to her Excellency revealed the motives of the eviction: “The main reason for this persistent plan to evict the Maasai villagers is to lease their land to Otterlo Business Corporation to be made as wildlife hunting area for the Dubai royal families who own this company.” The Tanzanian government is preparing to turn the disputed 1500 sq km of land in Loliondo into “protected” area and evict all residents despite the 2018 East African Court of Justice's preliminary ruling and court injunction in favour of the community.
Land essential to all Tanzanians
We remind the Government of the Republic of Tanzania that land is essential to all its citizens. They live on it. They grow from it. They drink from it and build their futures upon it.
We warn that the planned evictions will endanger over 200,000 livestock of the pastoral communities in Loliondo Division of Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region, exacerbating food insecurity in the semi-arid district.
As a coalition that defends the rights of those who live on and off the land, we also call on relevant bodies at the UN, especially UNESCO, that classified Ngorongoro Conservation Area as a world heritage, to publicly condemn the planned mass human rights violations and take effective action to stop them.
“Leave no one behind” is linked to land rights
In 2015, 193 world leaders pledged to “leave no one behind”, ensuring a better world by 2030 and setting targets for a sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future for people and the planet. We remind the Tanzanian Government that those pledges won’t be fulfilled in Tanzania if the farmers, pastoralists and indigenous people - the communities who are actually on the land - aren’t at the centre of making decisions that impact their lives and health of the land.
We call upon the President of the Republic of Tanzania to:
- Desist from evicting the Maasai indigenous pastoralists and respect their customary land rights
- Ensure that the land tenure security of the concerned communities in Ngorongoro, Loliondo and Sale is protected
- Recognize indigenous peoples’ land rights and their economic, cultural and environmental security