Last Updated on April 20, 2026
The Maasai International Solidarity Alliance (MISA) has called for the removal of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area from the UNESCO World Heritage List, arguing that the international conservation designation has been used to justify the displacement of Indigenous communities from their ancestral lands.
The call, issued on this year’s World Heritage Day, reflects growing tensions between conservation policies and Indigenous land rights in northern Tanzania, where the Maasai say decades of exclusion and relocation efforts have undermined their livelihoods and cultural survival.
MISA points to a series of historical displacements, beginning in 1959 when communities were evicted from the Serengeti National Park during the creation of the national park. The Maasai were assured at the time that further removals would not occur; but those assurances were later with another eviction from the Ngorongoro Crater in 1975.
Photo: Maasai International Solidarity Alliance
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1979, followed by the Serengeti in 1981. Maasai leaders argue these decisions were made without their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), a principle recognized under international human rights standards for Indigenous peoples.
“Living in a World Heritage Site could be a source of pride, but it [has become] a source of problems,” MISA said in their statement, pointing to increased tourism and stricter conservation measures that have restricted grazing, mobility and access to essential resources.
Photo: Maasai International Solidarity Alliance
The dispute has intensified in recent months following the Tanzanian government’s promotion of a relocation program affecting communities within Ngorongoro. Officials have framed the initiative as voluntary and necessary to protect fragile ecosystems and wildlife populations, but Maasai groups and human rights organizations have challenged that characterization, alleging coercion and inadequate consultation.
During a March 12 presentation of findings from presidential commissions reviewing conditions in Ngorongoro, government officials repeatedly referenced the site’s World Heritage status, describing it as a global asset requiring heightened protection. Maasai leaders say such arguments elevate international conservation priorities above the rights of the people who have historically managed the land.
Photo: Maasai International Solidarity Alliance
They are now calling on UNESCO, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Heritage Committee to:
The Maasai also argue that the continued World Heritage designation should be conditional on respect for human rights. If those conditions cannot be met, they say, Ngorongoro should be delisted.
Photo: Maasai International Solidarity Alliance
UNESCO has previously stated that World Heritage status carries obligations for both conservation and the protection of local communities, though critics say enforcement mechanisms remain weak.
The Tanzanian government has not publicly responded to the latest call for delisting. It has consistently maintained that conservation efforts in Ngorongoro are necessary to preserve biodiversity and sustain tourism, which is a key pillar of the national economy.
For the Maasai, the issue is not only about land, but recognition.
“We are not considered legitimate rights-holders of Ngorongoro,” MISA said. “Ngorongoro, to them, belongs to tourists, conservationists, and the world.”
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