Environmental Justice Case Study: Maasai Land in Kenya and Tanzania
Eco-tourism means a friendly kind of tourism. Most people do not realize the negative impact eco-tourism has in our society — tourist tour places to get a good view of wild animals with less human interactions. Eco-tourism is a tour which conserves the environment and benefits the local inhabitants.
Problem
The Maasai community found in Africa, occupy land both in Kenya, and Tanzania. During the colonial period, the British colonial government slowly moved the pastoral community out of the national parks without consideration of its long term effect.
Problems have increased rapidly, with more parks being created by the government without even consulting the original inhabitant of the community. Maasai people have continuously experienced land being taken away from them without also benefiting anything from the project. The government is only concerned about its selfish needs (Narimatsu, 2013). Edward ole Mbarnoti, a Maasai leader, says that “the Maasai have preserved this priceless heritage in our land. We are sharing it with wild animals long before the arrival of those who use the game only as a means of making money. So please do not tell us that we must be pushed off our land for the financial convenience of commercial hunters and hotel keepers. Nor tell us that we must live only by the rules and regulations of zoologist, if Uhuru (Independence) means anything at all, it means that we are to be treated like humans, not animals.”
Historical Background
Maasai is a group of people found in East Africa. Maasai arrived in East Africa around 14th to the 15th century. Maasai are believed to have settled near Nairobi and stretched from the highlands towards Tanzania where they settled mostly around Mt. Kilimanjaro. Maasai are believed to have occupied this area for many years (Narimatsu, 2013). The Maasai moved out due to an outbreak of cholera during the 19th century, and they were inherited by the British colonial government, who took over their land, and their herds. The Maasai are divided into twelve different groups, each group with different political and cultural practices, but the same language unites all.
The Maasai are pastoralist by nature, they move around with their animals looking for greener pastures, and fresh water for their livestock (Black, 1989). Milk, blood, and meat are significant sources of food. The Maasai believe in cattle breeding and are less familiar with agriculture. The Maasai are believed to be a relatively peaceful community.
British settlement in Nairobi saw the Maasai being manipulated with a treaty in the year 1905. The Maasai were relocated to land in Rift Valley. British again convinced the Maasai to move out of Serengeti hills, and in return were transferred to Ngorongoro highlands (Cheeseman, 2000). Kenya gained independence during 1963, and the first president was Jomo Kenyatta, who emphasized much on agriculture and wildlife preservation. Kenya started attaining political stability and began attracting tourists. The Maasai were never involved in any development.
Jomo Kenyatta died and was succeeded by his vice-president Daniel Toroitch Arap Moi in the year 1978. Moi introduced Majimboism, which allowed surrounding communities to control the region they lived in and their surroundings (Cheeseman, 2000). The new government of Kenya had a passion for the preservation of wildlife. The main goal of the government was to attract as many tourists as possible. The government of Kenya felt that the indigenous communities were a threat to land and wildlife. The government had to confine the people living around those areas.
The government of Kenya begun land privatization initiative. Government intention was to lower the number of Maasai herds and transform the Maasai from a simple way of living to a more commercial way of life (Homewood, Kristjanson & Trench, 2009). Privatization did not favor the pastoral way of life, and the Maasai were profoundly affected. The Maasai community was not competing with wildlife, and there was no way they would have negatively changed the wildlife. Privatization of land made the Maasai be confined in a particular piece of land, thus led to unsustainable ecology.
Maasai community felt there was an injustice to them in land privatization. First being considered pastoralist, they were left a small piece of land which could not sustain the remaining population. Second, for the government to attract tourist in the national parks, the Maasai were left with a small piece of land which could not sustain their large herds of cattle (Neumann, 1998). Kenyan government continuously blamed the Maasai for overgrazing a piece of land, but they had denied them the freedom of migration.
Maasai moved to Ngorongoro area after losing Serengeti to the colonial government in the early 1950s. Ngorongoro is in the southeast of Serengeti and covers an area of about 80000 square kilometers (Cheeseman, 2000). Ngorongoro registers the highest number of wild animals in Kenya, providing refuge for all the big five animals, that is an elephant, lion, cheetah, buffalo, and rhinos. Ngorongoro also provides shelter to other wildlife animals like gazelles, wild beast, and zebras in large quantities. The Government of Tanzania gave authority to Ngorongoro Conservation Authority to conserve wildlife and protect the Maasai living in the Ngorongoro conservation area.
Life in Ngorongoro has was getting worse over time for the Maasai people. Livestock numbers have decreased drastically due to disease (Homewood, Kristjanson & Trench, 2009). Maasai people have opted to turn to land cultivation. Paul Mshanga, Chief Manager of NCAA department of tourism, stated that “we realized that the traditional top-down approach to protected area management was not going to work. Since 1965, two management plans were formulated for the area but did not take off because the rights, and obligation of the local people were not addressed.”
The Maasai have interacted successfully with land and wildlife mutually for more than 10000 years (Cheeseman, 2000). Kenyan government blames Maasai for overgrazing a piece of land which sounds ironical. The Maasai have been displaced from an area of approximately 14000 square kilometers in both Kenya and Tanzania. The government is not concerned about the interest of its people, but it is only interested in the income it is going to make from tourist attraction.
Key Actors
The Maasai
Maasai is a pastoral community who move from one place to another looking for greener pastures and fresh water for their livestock. Maasai have beneficially interacted with lands for many years, by migrating to give room for growth of grass. British colonial government interrupted the Maasai way of life by pushing them away from their land, and claiming they were protecting the wildlife from the Maasai.
Kenya and Tanzania Governments
Both the governments are looking at the impact tourism is causing in the economy of each country without considering the communities who have inhabited that precious land for an extended period
Tourism Community
Tourism is considered a significant income generating activity in both Kenya and Tanzania. The government therefore has to make sure that the animal parks are attractive to the tourists, and the local people get evicted.
Ngorongoro Conservation Authority
NCAA is an authority formed by the Tanzanian government in the Ngorongoro area to protect the local people in that area, and also protect the wildlife (Neumann, 1998). NCAA forgets about the local people and is concerned in the preservation of rhino species.
Solutions
Before securing land from the Maasai community, the government should consider involving community leaders, discuss with the community how they are going to benefit from the government project about to be established. Projects primarily controlled by the Maasai community is likely to be more beneficial to the locals (Narimatsu, 2013). The government works in hand with tourist organizations looking forward to how they are going to improve the tourism sector, and no time is given to the local inhabitants.
Elimination of the Maasai from their land began during the colonial period when they were pushed out of their property without being consulted (Narimatsu, 2013). The government has given tourism the most important priority because it brings income to the country. The government should work in hand with the tourism industry to correct how they handle indigenous communities.
The Maasai deserves to be included in decision making, in any decision affecting their way of living. The government should also educate the Maasai community on the importance of wildlife preservation and look for a way that will leave both the Maasai community and the tourism sector satisfied.
References
Narimatsu, J. (2013). Environmental justice case study: Maasai land rights in Kenya and Tanzania. Environmental Justice Case Studies. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Accessed March, 13.
Black, D. (1989). Sociological justice (Vol. 22). New York: Oxford University Press.
Homewood, K., Kristjanson, P., & Trench, P. (Eds.). (2009). Staying Maasai?: Livelihoods, conservation, and development in East African rangelands (Vol. 5). Springer Science & Business Media.
Cheeseman, T. (2000, October). “Conservation and the Maasai in Kenya: Tradeoff or Lost
Neumann, Roderick P. (1998). Imposing Wilderness: Struggles over Livelihood and Nature Preservation in Africa. California: University of California Press.