By Masembe Tambwe
AN international consortium comprising of over 50 countries are siding with the indigenous people of Uvinje village living adjacent to Saadani National Park in Bagamoyo, Coast Region, who are on the verge of being relocated.
The consortium that comprises of communities, indigenous peoples and NGOs are urging relevant authorities to stop the proposed relocation of the villagers saying that it is not a pro conservation move.
In a statement made available to the 'Sunday News', a letter was sent to President Jakaya Kikwete, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, stating that the consortium is deeply concerned with the eviction of Uvinje villagers.
"The villagers of Uvinje remain the legal owners of the land in question," the statement read in part. The group, known as the Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved territories and Areas (ICCA), promotes global recognition of, and support to, areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities.
It is a partner organisation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
It stated that the intended evictions of the Uvinje villagers from their ancestral coastal land violates international conservation and human rights obligations that Tanzania is party to, and contradicts Tanzania's own land tenure and natural resource policies that protect village land rights.
The intended evictions are set based on new boundaries that were drawn up by Tanzania's National Park Authority (TANAPA), which wants to bring the ancestral lands of Uvinje to be part of Saadani National Park.
While TANAPA claims conservation motives, this conservationfocused consortium highly disagrees with the move. "Such an eviction would not only have serious negative consequences for the livelihoods and well-being of the Uvinje people," they write in the letter, "but also for conservation practices in the country and region."
It stated that the community had already voluntarily contributed more than 66 per cent of their ancestral land to the Saadani Game Reserve, and they have a long history of supporting conservation in the area, having "proven to be diligent custodians, able to respect and manage wildlife whilst remaining in situ."
The consortium says that news of the eviction is surprising as Tanzania is considered an international leader in promoting customary land rights alongside national conservation objectives.
Indeed, Tanzania's emphasis on community-based conservation actions has echoed global findings that community conserved areas offer one of the most effective and natural routes to sustainable conservation, and offer added benefits in terms of livelihoods.
The letter makes a direct appeal to President Kikwete, noting that the Village Land Act, 1999 gives the President the authority to direct the Minister in charge of land issues to appoint an inquiry in the case of wrongful or unnecessary transfers from village to general or reserved lands.
"We respectfully urge that this practical action be considered in order for the matter to be thoroughly investigated; through this, amicable dialogue, discussion of options, and mutual agreement between State and citizens may be reached," the letter read it part. The dispute involves Uvinje, a coastal sub-village of Saadani Village, located 8 km from the village centre.
Since the 1990s, the Tanzania National Park Authority (TANAPA) has, through the redrawing of boundary lines, unilaterally gazetted Uvinje's ancestral land to Saadani National Park.
As a result, the Uvinje villagers now face forced eviction from their land and homes. In 1965, the Saadani village leaders approached the Director of Wildlife to request support to protect local wildlife that was being indiscriminately hunted by outsiders.
Saadani Game Reserve (SGR) was then established, and officially gazetted by the Wildlife Division in 1974. The community thus voluntarily contributed over 66 per cent of their original lands to the Reserve, including voluntarily vacating some smaller sub-villages, close to the better range land where wildlife found important habitats.
In exchange, the community was promised the retention in perpetuity of the coastal areas where their main villages, including Uvinje. The same agreement applied to the main coastal villages of Saadani and Porokanya.
At the time of the agreement the Game Department (WCA) positioned a line of concrete beacons (markers) to delineate the official boundary between the Saadani Game Reserve and the village lands. New land law (Land Act, 1999, Village Land Act, 1999 confirmed villagers as legally enjoying protection for their village lands.
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By Masembe Tambwe AN international consortium comprising of over 50 countries are siding with the indigenous people of Uvinje village living...
