SIMANJIRO

Our villages in Simanjiro district are being targeted by one of the 2 soil carbon projects in development in Northern Tanzania, namely the Resilient Tarangire Ecosystem Project (RTEP) developed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and also targeting Longido and Monduli districts.The ambition of this project is to put large sections of Simanjiro district under soil carbon deals. We anticipate that if validated, this project will drastically change how grazing is organised and how we share natural resources, ultimately threatening our culture, livelihoods and food security. MISA is resisting the imposition of carbon projects without Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

Grazing areas in Simanjiro have been encroached upon by a number of conservation and hunting areas. Tara enger (spotted sheep) was alienated and occupied by the government in order to create a National Park now known as Tarangire National Park in 1970 without Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from our community . Like other National Parks, after its gazettement, communities have been denied access to it not on a temporary basis but forever for grazing, water, and cultural practices. While rich people can access as tourists, we who live just a few meters away are criminalised for accessing our land. As in Longido and Monduli, there is growing pressure for the establishment of Game Controlled and Game Reserve areas in Simanjiro, increasing the already tense land issue and restricting mobility.

Carbon credit trainings were held in Simanjiro, and villagers rejected the scheme in their villages. Credit: MISA.

A hunter poses with a slaughtered buffalo. Credit: Eshkesh safaris / ​​CC BY-SA 4.0

For more information on our carbon work in Simanjiro, please check our carbon page.

For more information about National Parks, Game Reserves and Game Controlled Areas, see the Conservation page.