View from the Termite Mound

Press conference by Ngorongoro youths in Dar es Salaam

Themes: Conservation, Indigenous people, Livlihoods, Human rights, Pastoralists

After the press conference in Arusha on 21st January, held by ward councillors and customary leaders from Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Ngorongoro youths in Dar es Salaam – all of them university students except one who’s a lawyer - followed up with their own press conference on 8th February.

The Multiple Land Use Model of Ngorongoro Conservation Area, review proposal

In this blog post: The MLUM review proposal. Reactions to the MLUM review proposal. Majaliwa/Olenasha/Marekani horror show in Wasso. Now

Themes: Conservation, Indigenous people, Livlihoods, Pastoralists, NGOs, Parks

On 22nd September 2019, what can only be described as a plan to kill pastoralism and Maasai culture and life in the whole of Ngorongoro district was presented at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) headquarters.

Five Years of Disappointment and Terror - Not Only in Loliondo

Five years of the fifth phase government in Tanzania are nearing their end.

Themes: Conservation, Indigenous people, Livlihoods, Pastoralists, Hunting, NGOs, Parks, Tourism

I should write a summary of what has happened concerning the land threats in Loliondo and Ngorongoro district as a whole. This isn’t easy. Even with more fearful silence than ever, much has happened, and apparently insignificant events turn out significant with hindsight. The summary is too long, but I hope it will be read anyway and that those reading it will try to do something to stop the police state and the land alienation plans.

View from the Termite Mound

Themes: Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Pastoralists, Conservation

Scattered, Scarce, and Delayed Reports While Waiting for Action against the Genocidal MLUM Proposal in Ngorongoro

Dossier: hunting and human-wildlife conflict.

Hunting is a topic that attracts polarised viewpoints. But as Mark Rowe demonstrates, when it comes to limiting human-wildlife conflict and to wider conservation measures, it’s not always so simple.

Themes: Conservation, Pastoralists, Poaching, Parks, Indigenous people, NGOs, Hunting

Mention ‘hunting’ and most of us think of poaching – primarily for ivory and the demands of Chinese medicine – or trophy hunting (see maps below); and the unpalatable image of a triumphant (usually) white Westerner straddling a dead, charismatic mammal. But the issue is a much wider and more nuanced one.

Pastoralists into New Round of Negotiations with those who Want to Wipe them off the Map of Ngorongoro

Themes: Conservation, FPIC, Indigenous people, Human rights, Parks, Pastoralists

This blog has been too silent. I’m very sad and tired, and in Loliondo, and Ngorongoro district as a whole, people have been busy discussing Covid-19, or “politics” (possible candidates, and I’m not innocent in this regard, even if my main interest is in who will best defend the land), while the biggest threat ever looms over everyone’s head – the insane Multiple Land Use Model report of last year. This threat has again been spoken about, and there’s a new attempt to, from the inside, stop planned atrocities.

The Indigenous World 2019

Over the last 33 years, The Indigenous World has documented an increasing trend towards harassment and criminalisation of indigenous peoples and communities.

Themes: Human rights, Fisheries, Tourism, Indigenous people, NGOs, Parks, Pastoralists, Conservation

Throughout 2018, there has been an increase in the documentation and reporting of illegal surveillance, arbitrary arrests, travel bans to prevent free movement, threats, dispossession and killings. We have witnessed instruments which are meant to protect indigenous peoples being turned against them, through the use of legislation and the justice system, to penalise and criminalise indigenous peoples’ assertion of their rights. The collection of events compiled in this edition demonstrate the continuation of increased violence, criminalisation, harassment and lack of justice that indigenous peoples experience as they continue to defend their lands and identity.

'View from the Termite Mound' responds to the paper on the Serengeti-Mara Squeeze.

Science Magazine Article with Huge Media Coverage, Anti-Loliondo Co-Author, and a not so Hidden Wish to Influence the Tanzanian Government

Themes: Conservation, Pastoralists, Parks, Human rights, NGOs