“We conserve nature because we live in it, because it is our life, it is the life of our cattle. The ‘conservation people’ do it because it gives them employment, because they get money from the white men. For them, if the white man does not bring money, it is the end of the story. For us, even if the white man does not bring money we will still preserve the environment. We did it before the white men came. We do because it is our lives, it is the life of our ancestors and our unborn children.”

Words of a Maasai elder in present day Tanzania. His words tell the story of traditional people worldwide who are fighting for their right to their homelands. These people are being pushed from the lands of their forefathers by the national governments that have imposed themselves on top of the ancient tribal structure that has kept order in the world for over 100,000 years. The politicians of these modern governments do not respect the authority of the indigenous tribes over their land, nor their mastery of it. Since the age of industrialization, beginning in the mid 1700s, every piece of land, tree, river, animal, human being is seen as a commodity, considered only for how it can be used by the politician. During this time, virtually every tree in the territories being conquered by the United States was cut down for timber.

In the 1850s, after gold was discovered in California, the US army was sent to fight the local indigenous tribes for control of the region and force them onto reservations. A group from the Paiute tribe, led by Chief Tenaya, based themselves in a valley in the western Sierra Nevada Mountains in what is now called California. They called this area Ahwahnee, meaning place of the gaping mouth. The group called themselves the Ahwahneechee (people of Ahwahnee). The Ahwahneechee were enemies of the Miwok, another local tribe. This feud was exploited by the US battalion sent to the region and the Miwok were recruited to assist in capturing the Ahwahneechee, who were fighting to protect the area from the miners. The physician of the battalion wrote about the beauty of the valley. His accounts of the beauty of the valley soon attracted tourists and settlers. One of the settlers, impressed by the majesty of the giant sequoia trees in the area, fought to protect the trees from loggers. In 1864, in the middle of the civil war, Abraham Lincoln signed into law that the trees would be protected from logging. This was the beginning of what would become the world’s first national park: a place preserved for the admiration of tourists and rich people, to the exclusion of native populations. Only a small number of natives currently reside in what is now called Yosemite National Park. Their sole function within the park is as a tourist attraction.

This method of conservation, with regards to the exclusion of native people from their traditional lands, became the model for conservation efforts across the world. This model is called the “Yosemite model” of conservation or “fortress conservation”. Fortress conservation operates under the assumption that local people use natural resources in irrational and destructive ways, and as a result cause biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. Protected areas following the fortress model can be characterized by three principles: local people dependent on the natural resource base are excluded; enforcement is implemented by park rangers patrolling the boundaries, using a “fines and fences” approach to ensure compliance; and only tourism, safari hunting, and scientific research are considered as appropriate uses within protected areas. Today, billions of dollars are poured into these efforts annually by the World Bank, multinational corporations, tourists, governments and charitable donations of individuals.

As stated in part one of this series, wildlife conservation and the protected zones they create have been called the greatest threat to traditional cultures. These protected zones (national parks, wildlife preserves, forest preserves) now comprise about 12% of the total land on Earth. The eventual goal is said to expand this amount to 30%. The stated goal of these organizations (some of whom operate with annual budgets of over $100 million) is to preserve the world’s wildlife biodiversity. This is a fancy way of saying they are working to protect the many species of the Earth from being driven to extinction by the industries of the modern world such as mining, oil drilling and logging. The actual effects of these practices is actually quite different from what the average modern individual might expect.

If modern conservationists are planning to protect up to 30% of the world’s land mass, what does the modern system have planned for the other 70%. If the 200 years since the opening of Yosemite National Park are any indication, the plan is development. Development is a popular way to describe the complete destruction and rebuilding of a place or a people to suit political interests. The modern system has perfected its methods of domination. For the last 200 years, it has laid claim to every piece of land, waterway, airspace and outer space, including the moon. The system has divided them up amongst its political leaders and their governments. It has attempted to completely destroy the world’s traditional empires, leaving many of the world’s natural habitats without their traditional protectors. In the 2000 years since this modern system came into power, the world has seen the destruction resulting from its “development” and “modernization” to a point where many are asking whether humanity has a future on Earth. Conservation has done nothing to stop this. To illustrate this point, we will examine the case of the Maasai in Eastern Meritah (Africa).

The Maasai of present day Kenya and Tanzania are historically a nomadic, warrior culture. They survive from their cattle herding and subsistence farming. Traditionally, the Maasai employ very successful methods of land preservation. Like traditional societies around the world, they acknowledge the fact that they are a part of nature and seek to find a harmonious role within it.

The Maasai base many of their activities on the cycles of nature. They perform controlled burning of the plants right before the rainy season, which allows the roots to survive and re-grow with the oncoming rain. They rotate the grazing areas of their cattle to allow for the regrowth of the grasses they eat and to allow other animals to graze in those areas according to their annual migration routes. They have strict taboos which forbid them from eating wild meat and cutting large trees. The beauty of their homeland is considered remarkable, a perfect destination for tourists…

Tanzania is a British colony. In Northern Tanzania, a large portion of the Maasai traditional lands was declared to be the Serengeti National Park by the British crown in 1940. The Maasai were promised that their traditional livelihoods would not be affected by the establishment of the park. From that time until 1958, apparently there was little disturbance to the Maasai.

In 1958, The Serengeti National Park was divided into the Serengeti National Park (the fertile lowlands) and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (the highlands). At this time, it was declared that the Serengeti National Park would be set aside exclusively for conservation, meaning that traditional populations, including the Maasai, would be evicted. The Maasai were promised alternative grazing areas, water sources, and other social services and continued access to the highlands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in return for their peaceful withdrawal from the Serengeti.

Supposedly the Maasai agreed to vacate the Serengeti, however it’s important to understand that one does not easily volunteer to leave the lands that one’s ancestors have cared for and resided in for thousands of years. Without should be noted that the “noble cause” of conservation is the primary excuse given for the eviction of the Maasai. However, the Maasai know, more than anyone, that they know best how to care for the land. It is doubtful that they would willingly hand over their land to foreigners because they feel they can’t manage the land as well as the foreigners. Such a thing would not have taken place without some deception, significant pressure and/or threat.

Following the Maasai withdrawal from the Serengeti, they lived peacefully for a few years in the NCA. However, following the “independence” of Tanzania from the British in 1961 (meaning the the replacement of a white colonist governor with a black colonist president) conditions have gradually worsened for the Maasai. In 1975 new laws imposed on the Maasai required them to apply for residency in the NCA. This residency could be revoked for those found in violation of the rules. The NCA management would no longer be required to inform or consult the Maasai regarding their plans. The Maasai were also banned from subsistence farming. This ban led to the migration of many Maasai out of the NCA to seek alternative places to farm and graze their cattle.

The society of the Maasai who remained in the NCA gradually weakened as they were unable to farm and their movements within the NCA were heavily restricted which prevented their access to grazing lands, water and medicinal plants. As a result, they were badly affected by droughts and diseases that affected both them and their cattle. The average number of livestock per person for the the Maasai dropped from about 17 animals per person in 1967 to just over 2 animals per person in 1994.

Under these conditions, people once independent and self-sufficient have been forced into a welfare state, dependent on government benefits for their food, medicine and other needs. While this is bad enough, the government has not even delivered the minimum social services to assist the Maasai in this situation. On the contrary, there have been numerous cases of abuse by the local authorities, including many killings by local police and park rangers.

As for the conservation efforts, since the Maasai have not been allowed to continue their traditional conservation methods, the environment has suffered. One Maasai asks, “Where are all the Rhinos we used to have around? They have disappeared. Your Black government keeps telling us that they are the ones who know how to conserve. They have dismissed our traditional systems. I can only say the day will come when all of us will be forced out and nothing of the remaining Rhinos will be left, not even their bones for one to see.”

While the Maasai are restricted from even subsistence farming and grazing, etc. certain areas of the NCA are being used for commercial purposes, especially tourism and including logging and farming; the same activities forbidden for the Maasai. It’s clear in this case that conservation is not the motive for restricting the Maasai activities. The Maasai culture and claim to the land prevents the colonists from being able to do whatever they want to the land. For the colonists, it’s better for the Maasai to be absorbed into the colonial society so they will serve the colonial agenda instead of their own culture and traditions. For this to happen without making an international spectacle by slaughtering innocent people, the alternative is to make the lives of the Maasai so difficult that they will leave the land voluntarily.

The Maasai who left the NCA were also leaving one of the few areas designated for wildlife conservation. The surrounding areas, once communally shared by the Maasai have been divided into private plots and ranches and given to individual Maasai families or small communities. Many of these lands have since been sold to private developers. These areas would not make suitable territories for the Maasai refugees to graze their cattle and establish new migratory routes which are central to their cultural identity. While the remaining Maasai in the NCA continue to be abused by the local authorities, they have become a tourist attraction on the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority website. The modern system has managed to transform the Maasai people and their land into commodities to be bought, sold and rented. The NCA has become an international zoo with human beings as the feature attraction!

This situation is not unique to the Maasai in the NCA. According to the Maasai Association

“Popular tourists destinations in East Africa such as the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Maasai Mara, Amboseli, and Tarangire game reserves are located inside the Maasai region. The reserves are now considered protected areas set aside for conservation, wildlife viewing, and tourism… The largest loss of land has been to national parks and reserves, in which the Maasai people are restricted from accessing critical water sources, pasture, and salt lick… The level of poverty among the Maasai people is beyond conceivable height. It is sad to see a society that had a long tradition of pride being a beggar for relief food because of imposed foreign concepts of development. The future of the Maasai is uncertain at this point.”

We have seen this story before. At this rate, 100 years from now, many of these people will find themselves in a situation similar to people of color in the US; a people so culturally lost that they identify themselves more with how well they can entertain the rich, as athletes, actors or tour guides, than with the culture of their ancestors.

The same is true for other traditional cultures across the world. Whomever colonialism has not conquered by force of the gun, sweet talk of religion or temptation of modern convenience and technology, they are targeting with nature conservation. The example of the Maasai can be seen as fairly typical, however each situation has its unique circumstances. This issue has become a matter of international human rights. Now that representatives of many of these indigenous groups have brought their plight to the international community, new approaches to the strategies for wildlife conservation are being considered and tested. In part three of this series, we will examine some of these examples. Until then, keep both eyes open because the reality of things is hidden behind the face we are presented.