Report on Maasai displacement

Today, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) published its report “Die Maasai in Tansania – Vertrieben für den Naturschutz” (“The Maasai in Tanzania – displaced under the guise of nature conservation”). Based on interviews with persons concerned, the report examines the German involvement in current human rights violations against the indigenous people of northern Tanzania. The report shows how project partners involved in German development cooperation projects are directly contributing to the precarious supply situation and the displacements. “The German Federal Government likes to emphasize the clean slate of its project partners – but discussions with those affected show that these claims are not true. Several organizations involved in forced resettlement measures under the guise of plans to expand nature reserves in Tanzania are partly financed by German taxpayer money,” stated Christoph Hahn, STP expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, in Berlin on Thursday.

Maasai communities have been trying to resist their forced relocation and expulsion for quite a while. In June of 2022, their protests were forcefully suppressed. There were many arbitrary arrests – and national park rangers were directly involved. “Rangers of the national park authority TANAPA are known to illegally confiscate the Maasai’s cattle in order to sell them. This is a targeted measure to drive the cattle herders into poverty,” Hahn said. “This authority benefits from German tax money as well. The German Federal Government should stop these payments immediately. It must regain lost trust and inform the Maasai communities which project measures it is financing.”  

Germany had already engaged in Tanzanian nature conservation as a colonial power. After the transition to British colonial administration, these efforts continued through the conservationist Bernhard Grzimek, who brought the topic to the German media. “Grzimek founded the Frankfurt Zoological Society, following his ideal of a human-free nature. Today, the organization still advocates the concept of ‘fortress nature conservation’, although it runs counter to scientific findings,” Hahn explained. “The Frankfurt Zoological Society proposes that social, medical, and educational services for the Maasai could be discontinued or moved away from the settlement areas – to encourage them to leave the area.“ As a result, financial support was stopped and emergency supplies from the air were effectively banned. This is one of the reasons why Maasai communities do not trust the Frankfurt Zoological Society.