Tanzanian Tour Operators Defend National Parks Against Allegations of Human Rights Abuses

By Adonis Byemelwa

Allegations of human rights abuses against Tanzania are facing fierce backlash, as prominent tour operators vehemently condemn international NGOs and media for spreading 'groundless' claims. They argue these baseless accusations not only tarnish Tanzania's reputation but also jeopardize its burgeoning travel and tourism industry.

The Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) warns in its statement that the malicious allegations hurt the travel and tourism industry in the country, calling on the self-proclaimed whistleblowers to provide accurate information.

The Tanzania Confederation of Tourism also issued a statement recently, calling on international media and organizations to investigate the intricacies of the situation and seek accurate information.

“TATO fully supports Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and we condemn in the strongest terms possible the foreign non-state actors’ assertions that the conservation and tourism agency is persecuting and evicting people to use their ‘ancestral lands’ for tourism ventures,” TATO says in a statement.

“It’s absurd that people with self-interests have deliberately decided to distort the facts and history out of proportion apparently to ruin the image of TANAPA, the most professional and experienced state-run agency,” TATO added.

TATO is responding to the US-based Oakland Institute, which has categorically been attacking the East African country for allegedly carrying out killings, rape, and forceful evictions of communities from what the institute claims to be their ‘ancestral lands.’

The strong association of 300-plus professional tour operators defends the Tanzanian government’s swift move to incorporate key water catchment areas of Ihefu and Usangu Plains into Ruaha National Park in the south of the country, saying the decision will curb massive unsustainable agricultural and pastoral practices.

Doubting the decision that the government took over a decade and a half ago, the tour operators say the allegations call into question the motives behind the critics, given the harm the unsustainable practices cause to the national park, businesses, and national coffers.

In 2003, agricultural and pastoral malpractices, coupled with population growth, resulted in most rivers in the country registering barely two-thirds of the flows recorded in 1988, halting hydropower generation and triggering countrywide power outages.

Unlike some neighboring countries with ancestral lands, all land in Tanzania is public, vested in the President as trustee for and on behalf of all citizens. According to the country’s 1999 Land Act, whoever is offered a plot for any use is entitled to relocation for the wider interests of the nation.

The drying up of the Ihefu Valley and Usangu Plains water catchment areas for the Great Ruaha River, which supplies water to three key hydropower dams—Mtera, Kidatu, and Nyerere—that generate about two-thirds of Tanzania’s electricity needs, resulted in a chronic shortage of electricity countrywide.

Besides disrupting production in the manufacturing sector, and other businesses, and denying the taxman revenues, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute found that the decline of water flows in the Great Ruaha River and its tributaries also significantly contributed to the decrease in the population of buffalo and other species of fauna and flora within Ruaha National Park.

The Sangu ethnic group, the original pastoralists in the water catchment areas of Ihefu and Usangu, were few in numbers and cattle to raise such an alarm.

The population of German East Africa, which included Rwanda and Burundi, was only about eight million people in 1911 and that of Tanzania was nine million people in 1964, as opposed to over 61 million people at the moment, which is estimated to double by 2050.

In addition to the population swelling, pastoralists alone in the Ihefu and Usangu water catchment areas are estimated to own between 3,000 and 7,000 cattle each, let alone millions of other varied water users downstream of the Great Ruaha River.

Moreover, it takes 2,000 liters of water to produce a liter of milk, 5,000 liters a kilo of rice, and 22,000 liters a kilo of beef—all of which last barely one meal to a Tanzanian average household.

"In this situation of Ihefu and Usangu catchment areas, the interventions of the government of the natural-resource-rich nation in the region and on the continent, if not in the world, should be understood among well-wishers," TATO says.

The massive unsustainable agricultural and pastoral practices justify the Tanzanian government’s decision to urgently relocate pastoralists and their cattle elsewhere, says TATO, stressing that the alleged human rights abuses ought to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis instead of ‘blanket’ statements.

"As Ruaha National Park players, we never condone human rights abuses, but we rather encourage close and meaningful consultations between government departments and all stakeholders," TATO stresses, explaining:

"It is unfair to punish the current and future generations for transgressions by a few individuals, as the right thing, if such lapses did even take place."

The Oakland Institute published a report last year claiming the Tanzanian government was expanding Ruaha National Park to boost tourism receipts at the expense of the interests of the surrounding villagers.

The eviction exercise coupled with routine patrols of the Ruaha National Park, according to the institute, also saw law enforcers confiscating the property of the villagers, mostly livestock, fish, and other trophies caught in the water catchment areas.

The institute roped in the World Bank in its report, blaming the international financial institution for supporting Tanzania in its bid to promote tourism in the south of the country.

Tanzania secured a $150 million loan from the World Bank in 2017 to implement its eight-year Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW) project involving Ruaha, Nyerere, Mikumi, and Udzungwa national parks, all situated in its virgin southern tourism circuit.

But thanks to the Oakland Institute report, the World Bank had to suspend funding for a $150 million conservation project.

The REGROW project was launched to improve the management of natural resources and tourism assets in southern Tanzania, according to the World Bank.

At least $100 million has been disbursed for the project, which was launched in 2017, but owing to bureaucratic procedures, the REGROW project had to hit the ground running in 2019.

It is understood, that Ruaha National Park receives few visitors; its management is a drain on the resources of the country. That fact contradicts Oakland Institute’s claims that its expansion was for tourism revenue, reads the TATO statement in part.

Key TATO member, Mr. John Corse, argues that if the Oakland Institute’s intentions were honorable, they would have been talking about strengthening Tanzania’s capacity to manage these delicate land issues, rather than pressurizing the World Bank to pull the funding.

The regional seasoned tourism expert, Mr. Sirili Akko, says that the Oakland Institute should leverage its invaluable resources and expertise to collaborate effectively with the Tanzanian government on sustainable conservation initiatives.

“By joining forces, both entities can amplify their impact, ensuring environmental preservation while fostering socio-economic growth for local communities, rather than focusing solely on critiquing the Tanzanian government’s efforts,” Mr. Akko explained.