Fredede nationalparker breder sig i Tanzania, men det betyder, at hyrdefolk i stigende grad bliver fordrevet fra deres områder, hvilket har ført dem ud i voldelige konflikter med bønder. Regeringen og bønderne har generelt et negativt syn på de nomadiske hyrdestammer.
Det skriver “Den Internationale Arbejdsgruppe for Indfødte Folk” (IWGIA) i sin årlige statusrapport.
The creation of new wildlife preservation areas and the expansion of old ones was one of the major features of 2012 that affected the situation of indigenous peoples in Tanzania.
Tanganyika had only one national park in 1961, the 14,763 km2 Serengeti Park. However, today there are 16 national parks in the country, and Tanzania has set aside well over 40 per cent of its territory for wildlife conservation.
‘No alternative land or compensation has been given to the indigenous people who have been evicted from their land due to the creation of national parks and conservation areas.
For example, between 2006 and 2007, pastoralists were evicted from Mbarali District when the size of Ruaha National Park was doubled from 10,300 km2 to 20,226 km2. Pastoralists who were evicted were not compensated and still suffer gravely. As a direct consequence of this eviction, violent conflicts erupted in May 2012 between the evicted pastoralists and farmers in Rufiji District.
The conflict left one person dead, many injured and property worth hundreds of millions of Tanzania Shillings destroyed, including the killing of many livestock. Similar violent clashes have also occurred in other regions such as Coastal, Lindi, Mtwara, Katavi, Rukwa, Iringa and Mbeya, where pastoralists live.
The main reason for these violent clashes is the strong negative perception of the government and non-pastoralist populations towards pastoralists. The pastoralists who are evicted and ordered to resettle elsewhere are viewed by the government and non-pastoralist populations as intruders and they are often asked to go back where they came from even if their original areas have been forcibly taken away from them.
Conflicts between the national parks and the pastoralists increased during 2012. In the second half of 2012, the Maasai pastoralists of Ololosokwan village removed beacons which the Serengeti National Park had illegally and arbitrarily planted on village land to mark the boundaries of the park.
Twice in 2012, the Tarangire National Park wardens burned down houses in Kimotorok village, claiming that they were illegally built inside the park while in fact it is the park that has expanded into Kimotorok and other villages on the eastern side of the Park.
Throughout 2012, the villages bordering Saadani National Park, Kitulo National Park, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Mikumi National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and others have been fighting against the expansion of these parks.
Villages bordering Lake Manyara National Park which, in 2008, doubled in size from 330 km2 to 649 km2, are suffering similarly. Villages bordering Kilimanjaro, Mkomazi, Saadani, Udzungwa, Kitulo, Mikumi, Arusha, Ruaha, Katavi and many other parks are also experiencing similar problems.
Læs rapporten her: http://www.iwgia.org/publications/search-pubs?publication_id=613
