World Bank Accused of Enabling Tanzanian Government’s Violent National Park Expansion
The World Bank is facing accusations of enabling the Tanzanian government’s violent expansion of a national park through its financing. According to a report by the Oakland Institute, a rights watchdog based in California, the World Bank has failed to hold Tanzanian authorities accountable for serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and sexual assaults, related to the expansion of Ruaha National Park.
The report reveals evidence of wrongdoing by park rangers who were partially funded through the World Bank’s $150 million project called REGROW. The Tanzanian government’s plan to evict over 21,000 people from five villages to facilitate the expansion of the park has raised concerns about the human rights abuses faced by Indigenous communities, including the Maasai, Datoga, and Sangu pastoralist peoples.
The brutal tactics employed by Tanzanian authorities to force these communities away and prioritize tourism development in Ruaha National Park are closely tied to the financing provided by the World Bank, according to the report. However, the World Bank denies funding the regularizing of park boundaries and claims that activities related to the extension of park boundaries fall outside the scope of the REGROW project.
In response to these allegations, the World Bank stated that it has zero tolerance for violence in the projects it finances and that a panel of inspectors is reviewing a complaint related to REGROW to assess the validity of the concerns raised.
Tanzania heavily relies on tourism revenue to support its budget and has been actively trying to develop its national parks to attract more visitors. However, this development has led to the displacement and human rights abuses of tens of thousands of communities across the country. This includes the violent eviction of 70,000 Maasai from grazing lands in the Loliondo area to accommodate trophy hunting.
The Oakland Institute’s report highlights 12 cases of disappearances or extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out by rangers, as well as multiple incidents of sexual assault against women. Government agencies are also seizing and auctioning cattle on a large scale, putting immense financial pressure on pastoralists to leave the area.
By failing to hold Tanzanian authorities accountable for their actions, including those not directly funded through REGROW, the World Bank’s safeguards have been rendered ineffective, according to Anuradha Mittal, the executive director of the Oakland Institute.
This situation in Tanzania’s national parks, particularly in the south of the country, has gone largely unnoticed despite the similar pattern of dispossession and human rights abuses in pursuit of increased tourism revenue.
As the Tanzanian government prepares for mass evictions, environmental activists like Habib Mchange suggest that authorities are currently evaluating the situation, hinting at a potentially protracted eviction and resettlement process.
In conclusion, the allegations against the World Bank for enabling the Tanzanian government’s violent expansion of Ruaha National Park highlight serious human rights concerns and raise questions about the accountability of global lenders in such projects.
