Mae DesTroismaisons
Nature and Culture
March 27, 2014
Professor Walter Kuentzel
“The ultimate challenge facing conservationists today is not only to reconcile errors of the past but also to determine how to shape human interactions with nature in landscapes of which people are a part.”
–Brockington, Igoe, and Schmidt-Soltau (“Conservation, Human Rights, and Poverty Reduction”)
Tarangire National Park (TNP) is located in northern Tanzania and is known for its “authentic safari atmosphere” that includes elephants, exotic birds, and beautiful views of the African landscape (“Tarangire National Park”). The park is not as well known for the dark side of its history. When Googled, a wealth of travel sites appear, all advertising safaris and other tourist activities. Virtually none of the search results mention the Maasai, who are the indigenous people of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya that have been living in the region since the 15thcentury or earlier (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”).
The Maasai are semi-nomadic, and rely heavily on cattle, both culturally and economically. In 1970, the Maasai lost a large portion of their land, including critical sources of water, grazing land, and salt lick, to the Tanzanian government via eminent domain, or, “the power of the federal or state government to take private property for a public purpose, even if the property owner objects” (Stille, 2002). The Maasai lost a sizeable amount (over 1,000 square miles) of their most important land, without reciprocation, for the creation of TNP (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”).
The above instance is an example of fortress conservation. Unfortunately, this type of conservation involves the eviction and forcible relocation of local people who live in an area that has been declared to be protected land by some authority, usually the federal government. As a result, locals often loose their livelihoods and are left in poverty for the government does not typically provide them with financial assistance (Brockington, 2002). Fortress conservation is most common in developing areas like East Africa (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”) and is arguably a form of what is known as “green imperialism” or, “a case of Western scientists declaring the environment a ‘global resource’ to justify seizing control over other countries’ territory” (Stille, 2002).
In the 1980s, about ten years after the Maasai land was seized to establish TNP, another approach called community-based conservation began gaining support in response to the negative effects of fortress conservation. Community-based conservation can be initiated by means of ecotourism or government subsidies, and its main principles are the involvement of local peoples in nature protection and the education of locals about environmental stewardship. In general, community-based conservation is considered more socially just than fortress conservation (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”).
It is clear that the Tanzanian government treated the Maasai unfairly in the name of conservation, but perhaps if a community-based strategy had been used, then things would have panned out differently. Instead of not receiving any economic gain from the creation of TNP, the Maasai could have helped manage the park and reap the financial rewards of jobs in tourism. Additionally, they might have been able to have a greater say in decision-making regarding the park as labor unions formed. An intangible gain for the Maasai that could stem from community-based conservation in TNP would be a greater sense of pride in their homeland, and comfort in knowing it would always be protected by the local people and the federal government as a team.
Obviously, community-based conservation is a better option than fortress conservation, but it is far from perfect. Some argue that it is both a blessing and a curse in that increased revenue from tourism aids in the “Westernization” of indigenous cultures, and as a result, some of the culture is lost or forgotten and replaced with television, computers, and other media. In my opinion, community-based conservation is the best way to move forward at this time because it guarantees that land is conserved in a way that at least does not drive locals into poverty. In an age of rapid globalization, the development of nations in East Africa is inevitable, so we might as well ensure that it has a focus on the protection of natural resources and wildlife. I do, however, think that a stronger focus should be put on preserving the world’s cultures as well as its land.
Works Cited
Brockington, Dan. “Fortress Conservation: The Preservation of the Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies 35 (2002): 594-596. JSTOR. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Brockington, Dan., Igoe, J., and Schmidt-Soltau, K. 2006. Conservation, Human Rights, and Poverty Reduction. Conservation Biology 20(1): 250-252. <http://cmbc.ucsd.edu/content/1/docs/brockington.pdf>.
“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures.” NC State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www4.ncsu.edu/~cjanders/#fortressconservation>.
Stille, A. 2002. Protecting species in Madagascar. The Future of the Past (ch. 5). New York: Picador. 123-154.
“Tarangire National Park.” Tanzania Odyssey: Specialists in Travel to Tanzania. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.tanzaniaodyssey.com/tanzania/tarangire>.
Nature and Culture
March 27, 2014
Professor Walter Kuentzel
“The ultimate challenge facing conservationists today is not only to reconcile errors of the past but also to determine how to shape human interactions with nature in landscapes of which people are a part.”
–Brockington, Igoe, and Schmidt-Soltau (“Conservation, Human Rights, and Poverty Reduction”)
Tarangire National Park (TNP) is located in northern Tanzania and is known for its “authentic safari atmosphere” that includes elephants, exotic birds, and beautiful views of the African landscape (“Tarangire National Park”). The park is not as well known for the dark side of its history. When Googled, a wealth of travel sites appear, all advertising safaris and other tourist activities. Virtually none of the search results mention the Maasai, who are the indigenous people of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya that have been living in the region since the 15thcentury or earlier (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”).
The Maasai are semi-nomadic, and rely heavily on cattle, both culturally and economically. In 1970, the Maasai lost a large portion of their land, including critical sources of water, grazing land, and salt lick, to the Tanzanian government via eminent domain, or, “the power of the federal or state government to take private property for a public purpose, even if the property owner objects” (Stille, 2002). The Maasai lost a sizeable amount (over 1,000 square miles) of their most important land, without reciprocation, for the creation of TNP (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”).
The above instance is an example of fortress conservation. Unfortunately, this type of conservation involves the eviction and forcible relocation of local people who live in an area that has been declared to be protected land by some authority, usually the federal government. As a result, locals often loose their livelihoods and are left in poverty for the government does not typically provide them with financial assistance (Brockington, 2002). Fortress conservation is most common in developing areas like East Africa (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”) and is arguably a form of what is known as “green imperialism” or, “a case of Western scientists declaring the environment a ‘global resource’ to justify seizing control over other countries’ territory” (Stille, 2002).
In the 1980s, about ten years after the Maasai land was seized to establish TNP, another approach called community-based conservation began gaining support in response to the negative effects of fortress conservation. Community-based conservation can be initiated by means of ecotourism or government subsidies, and its main principles are the involvement of local peoples in nature protection and the education of locals about environmental stewardship. In general, community-based conservation is considered more socially just than fortress conservation (“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures”).
It is clear that the Tanzanian government treated the Maasai unfairly in the name of conservation, but perhaps if a community-based strategy had been used, then things would have panned out differently. Instead of not receiving any economic gain from the creation of TNP, the Maasai could have helped manage the park and reap the financial rewards of jobs in tourism. Additionally, they might have been able to have a greater say in decision-making regarding the park as labor unions formed. An intangible gain for the Maasai that could stem from community-based conservation in TNP would be a greater sense of pride in their homeland, and comfort in knowing it would always be protected by the local people and the federal government as a team.
Obviously, community-based conservation is a better option than fortress conservation, but it is far from perfect. Some argue that it is both a blessing and a curse in that increased revenue from tourism aids in the “Westernization” of indigenous cultures, and as a result, some of the culture is lost or forgotten and replaced with television, computers, and other media. In my opinion, community-based conservation is the best way to move forward at this time because it guarantees that land is conserved in a way that at least does not drive locals into poverty. In an age of rapid globalization, the development of nations in East Africa is inevitable, so we might as well ensure that it has a focus on the protection of natural resources and wildlife. I do, however, think that a stronger focus should be put on preserving the world’s cultures as well as its land.
Works Cited
Brockington, Dan. “Fortress Conservation: The Preservation of the Mkomazi Game Reserve, Tanzania.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies 35 (2002): 594-596. JSTOR. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Brockington, Dan., Igoe, J., and Schmidt-Soltau, K. 2006. Conservation, Human Rights, and Poverty Reduction. Conservation Biology 20(1): 250-252. <http://cmbc.ucsd.edu/content/1/docs/brockington.pdf>.
“Impacts of Nature Reserves on Local People and Cultures.” NC State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www4.ncsu.edu/~cjanders/#fortressconservation>.
Stille, A. 2002. Protecting species in Madagascar. The Future of the Past (ch. 5). New York: Picador. 123-154.
“Tarangire National Park.” Tanzania Odyssey: Specialists in Travel to Tanzania. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.tanzaniaodyssey.com/tanzania/tarangire>.