Tanzania defends decision on Ngorongoro resettlement

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania has reiterated that it is relocating residents from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area under terms that strictly observe the country’s human rights record.

Speaking during the 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, India, the minister for Tourism and Heritage of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, Mr Mudrik Ramadhan Soraga, trashed assumptions that there were some human rights violations in the way the exercise was being conducted.

Mr Soraga is leading the United Republic of Tanzania delegation attending the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting, which runs from July 21 to 31 in New Delhi, India.

“The government of the United Republic of Tanzania is concerned by the level of the ongoing misinformation campaign and unfounded allegations aimed at undermining the national efforts to balance heritage conservation, human rights, socio-economic development and livelihoods of citizens in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area,” said Mr Soraga in a statement that was available to the media in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.

To put things into context, he said, after the failed Multiple Land Use Model due to escalating human-wildlife conflicts, overpopulation of humans and livestock, wide-spreading zoonotic diseases, shrinking wildlife corridors and grazing land, lack of safe water sources, poor sanitation and the quest for socio-economic development of its citizens, consensus was reached through a participatory and transparent process for a voluntary relocation programme.

He reiterated the government’s position that there were no specific indigenous people in the United Republic of Tanzania.

“The government recognises there are communities with specific needs, such as the Hadzabe, and ensures that their civil, political, socio-economic, and cultural rights are promoted and respected,” the statement reads.

According to the statement, Tanzania, guided by the rule of law and the fundamental principles of good governance, has placed human rights at the forefront while addressing challenges in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. ⁠

The government invited the UNESCO Advisory Mission for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in February 2024, and its report is under finalisation. The State Party commits to work closely with the centre and other state parties in addressing challenges facing its citizens in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The World Heritage Committee meets annually and is responsible for managing all matters on World Heritage Properties and decides on sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage list. During the meeting, State of Conservation reports of World Heritage Sites, proposals for nomination of new sites on the World Heritage list, International Assistance and Utilisation of World Heritage Funds will be discussed.

Currently, there are 1,199 World Heritage Sites in 168 out of 195 State Parties of UNESCO. The meeting is being attended by more than 2000 international and national delegates from more than 150 countries.

The United Republic of Tanzania has seven World Heritage Sites on the list, namely, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, Kondoa Stone Art, Selous Game Reserve, and the Stone Town of Zanzibar.