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Indigenous Rights
The REGROW project, aimed at doubling the size of Ruaha National Park, has left many without land and prospects. Credit: Kizito Makoye/IPS
– A hush had fallen over Mbarali District, but it was not the quiet of peace—it was the silence of uncertainty.
Just months ago, the rolling plains were gripped by fear as government-backed rangers, dressed in olive green fatigues, roamed through villages, seizing cattle, torching homes, and forcing entire communities to the wobbly edge of survival. The REGROW project, a USD 150 million initiative funded by the World Bank to expand Ruaha National Park (RUNAPA), had promised tourism growth and environmental conservation. What it delivered was a brutal campaign of state-sanctioned land grabbing under the guise of protecting nature.
Then, in a stunning turn of events, the World Bank pulled the plug on the project in January 2025 after intense scrutiny from human rights watchdogs and the United Nations. On paper, it was a victory for the thousands of farmers and pastoralists whose lands were threatened. But for many, the damage had already been done.
A Victory Hollowed by Loss
“We lost everything,” said Daudi Mkwama, a rice farmer who watched helplessly as rangers confiscated his cattle and demolished his storehouse. “They told us we were trespassers on land our ancestors have farmed for generations.”
The REGROW project aimed to double the size of Ruaha National Park, claiming vast swaths of farmland and grazing land in the process. Villages that had coexisted with nature for centuries suddenly found themselves labeled as threats to conservation. The government, backed by international funding, deployed heavily armed TANAPA (Tanzania National Parks Authority) rangers to enforce new restrictions.
At least 28 villages in Mbarali District were affected, home to more than 84,000 people. Farmers were barred from their fields, and pastoralists were banned from grazing their livestock. Those who resisted faced brutal crackdowns. Reports of beatings, arbitrary arrests, and even extrajudicial killings surfaced, prompting an investigation by the World Bank’s Inspection Panel.
“One day, they came and took my cows—said I was grazing in a protected area,” said Juma Mseto, a Maasai herder. “We begged them to let us go. They just laughed and told us to go to hell.”
The Politics of Land and Power
Tanzania’s conservation model has long been marred by controversy. Despite its reputation as a wildlife haven, the country’s protected areas have historically come at a high human cost. The eviction of Indigenous communities has been a recurring pattern, from Ngorongoro to Loliondo, and now Mbarali.
The REGROW project was touted as a necessary step to protect Tanzania’s natural heritage and boost its tourism industry, a sector that contributes nearly 17% of the country’s GDP of approximately US$80 billion. But critics argue it was another case of conservation being weaponized against marginalized communities.
“This wasn’t about protecting nature,” said Onesmo Ole Ngurumwa, a human rights advocate who serves as the national coordinator of the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC). “This was about expanding state control over land, profiting from tourism, and sidelining the people who have lived in harmony with these ecosystems for generations.”
The World Bank’s involvement only deepened the controversy. When evidence of forced evictions and human rights abuses surfaced, the institution initially turned a blind eye. But mounting pressure from advocacy groups like the Oakland Institute, along with intervention from nine UN Special Rapporteurs, forced the bank’s hand.
In April 2024, funding was suspended. Seven months later, the entire project was scrapped.
Life After the Cancellation
Despite the decision, villagers say their suffering is far from over. Many who lost their homes and livelihoods have received no compensation. Schools remain closed, water access is scarce, and government beacons still mark the lands they were once told to vacate.
“We are still living in fear,” said Halima Mtemba, a mother of four. “They say the project is over, but will they return our cattle? Will they fix our schools? Will they give us back what they stole?”
Local leaders are calling for the removal of park boundary markers and official recognition of ancestral land rights. They also demand restitution for lost livestock, crops, and homes.
A Broader Pattern of Displacement
The battle over Mbarali is not an isolated incident. Across Tanzania, conservation projects continue to displace communities under the pretext of environmental protection.
In Ngorongoro, thousands of Maasai have been forced out to make way for elite tourism ventures. In Loliondo, violent evictions have turned vast grazing lands into private hunting concessions.
“The government has made it clear: it values animals over people,” said Maneno Kwayu, a pastoralist leader in Mbarali. “We are not against conservation. We are against being treated like intruders on our own land.”
Tanzania’s conservation policies are rooted in colonial-era frameworks that prioritized wildlife tourism over Indigenous land rights. Decades later, the same patterns persist, often with the backing of global financial institutions.
What Comes Next?
With the REGROW project dead, the focus now shifts to reparations. Human rights groups are pushing for an independent commission to oversee compensation and ensure the affected communities receive justice.
But there is little trust in the system.
“The World Bank may have walked away, but the government hasn’t,” said Ole Ngurumwa. “Until there are real legal protections for these communities, another project like this will happen again.”
For now, the people of Mbarali continue to live in limbo—celebrating a victory that came too late, in a battle they should never have had to fight.
IPS UN Bureau Report