The Cost of Conservation—How Tanzania Is Erasing the Maasai Identity By Kizito Makoye Copyright © IPS - Inter Press Service -

The Cost of Conservation—How Tanzania Is Erasing the Maasai Identity By Kizito Makoye The removal of tens of thousands of Maasai from Ngorongoro to Msomera is part of a disturbing global trend known as "fortress conservation," where Indigenous people are cast as threats to biodiversity rather than its protectors. https://www.ipsnews.net/2025/06/the-cost-of-conservation-how-tanzania-is-erasing-the-maasai-identity/ DAR ES SALAAM , Jun 19 2025 (IPS) - On the vast plains of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), the sight of young Maasai men in bright shawls, wielding sticks as they herd cattle, has long symbolized peaceful coexistence with nature. These herders, moving in harmony with zebras and wildebeests, are inseparable from the landscape. But today, that very identity—nurtured for generations—is under siege. Copyright © IPS - Inter Press Service -