Rights-based conservation depends on institutions that give citizens clear and enforceable rights to manage lands and natural resources. Such rights hinge on citizens’ abilities to strengthen and defend their rights and on the operation of the rule of law and impersonal forms of government for legal reforms to take place and have meaning.

 This paper explores the development of a pilot PES scheme in the Tarangire ecosystem of Tanzania in response to specifi c wildlife declines and policy constraints. It charts the development of this initiative from its genesis based on PES experiences in Kenya. This paper specifi cally explores the questions of whether the utilization of free-market enterprise tools to achieve conservation goals infl uences Maasai livelihood diversifi cation in ways that are compatible with conservation.

This study documents the plight of the Maasai pastoralists who have moved to Morogoro and Kilosa districts as a result of the recent socio-economic developments and environmental changes in Maasailand. The objective of this study was to analyse how the Maasai migrants have adapted themselves to the new ecological conditions and the impact of such adaptations on their livelihoods.

This urgent alert is based on the forceful evictions of Maasai pastoralists from their homes and grazing lands in Loliondo Division, Ngorongoro District in Northern Tanzania and the gross human rights violations that are being committed. 

The eviction operation started on the 4th July 2009 and was conducted by the notorious riot police, the Field Force Unit, with assistance of private guards from the Otterlo Business Cooperation (OBC). They entered the villages by shooting in the air and using teargas before pouring petrol on the Maasai homes and setting them on fire.

Parakuiyo Pastoralists Indigenous Community Development Organization (PAICODEO), PINGOs Forum, Tanzania Land Alliance (TALA), the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and journalists from ITV, Star TV, Channel 10 and Mwananchi newspaper have conducted a fact finding mission concerning the forced evictions of pastoralists in Kilombero and Ulanga districts in Morogoro region in Tanzania. The fact finding mission was carried out from 12.11 – 15.11 2012. 

This case study focuses on the capacity of local communities to monitor biodiversity and resources in Madagascar, Nicaragua, Philippines and Tanzania. It makes a controlled comparison between local community monitoring and trained scientists’ monitoring and conclude that local and indigenous communities generate similar and equally good outputs as the trained scientists, and are much more cost efficient. The cases suggest that it is fully possible to build a cheap and effective MRV system based on community monitoring of Non-Carbon Benefits

In early 2015, Maasai and Datoga citizens living in the Morogoro region of Tanzania were victims of deadly, ethnic violence. According to reports from local media, the assaults were instigated by public figures interested in acquiring land, and state authorities have not intervened to protect Maasai citizens. Police protection has instead been given to others who are illegally cultivating officially registered Maasai land. 

Eviction of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands is one of the most destructive and degrading mitigation strategy performed by modern governments in developing countries to address climate change. Armed police and soldiers are used to forcefully evict indigenous peoples to pave the way for investors and conservation in the name of climate change mitigation.

This briefing note call attention to the ongoing situation of harassments and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders in Loliondo in northern Tanzania.It offers an account of the recent events taking place in the area and background information.

IWGIA believes that these developments are a cause of great concern. The detentions, harassment and trumped up charges undermine civil society and other stakeholders, limiting their options to carry out human rights work in Tanzania.

Os assentamentos de reforma agrária têm assumido um papel de destaque em relação ao desmatamento da Amazônia nos últimos cinco anos. Atualmente cerca de 8% do território dos estados amazônicos (41,8 milhões de hectares) encontra-se destinado aos 3.589 assentamentos de reforma agrária.

Este informe impulsa, incentiva y reúne diversas miradas y posicionamientos, que emergen de las formas de acompañamiento comprometido a los movimientos por la tierra y defensa de territorios en siete países de Sudamérica.

A new joint report from Community Network in Action (CNA), Ponlok Khmer, GRAIN, Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA), and the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) exposes the devastating consequences of land grabs for indigenous communities in Preah Vihear province, northern Cambodia.