Eco-gaurds in the DNC.

To Protect Nature, We Are
Razing Down Fortress Conservation
Anuradha Mittal / The Oakland Institute

(December 25, 2024) — In Tanzania and DRC, armed eco-guards and park rangers – funded by international donors and organizations – have abused, raped, and murdered local and Indigenous People, under the guise of protecting the environment. Amidst these atrocities, the Oakland Institute is a critical force in support of frontline communities struggling for their land, culture, and life.

The Tanzanian government’s brutal campaign of forced evictions to boost hunting and safari tourism threatens tens of thousands of Indigenous pastoralists. To stop this injustice, we took on to expose and challenge two key financers of this campaign: The US government and the World Bank. And it worked! Our advocacy has stalled these egregious plans before they decimate the stewards of the land!

Earlier this year, when over 40,000 Maasai mobilized to stop forced evictions in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area by blocking roads to the Serengeti Park, we launched a media campaign to make their struggle known globally. The resulting pressure forced the government to make a stunning reversal and it reinstated the villages and voting rights stripped in early August!

In Southern Tanzania, our research and advocacy led to the suspension of the World Bank’s  financing for the REGROW project – responsible for devastating human rights abuses and forced displacement, impacting over 80,000 villagers. We forced the Bank to reach this rare decision – a vital precedent towards justice for the millions of Indigenous victims of fortress conservation worldwide!

Protected Areas in DRC have meant extra-judicial killings and other horrific abuses for the Indigenous Batwa in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, while the illegal extraction of gold, tantalum, and cobalt reserves continues unabated.

We denounced the powerful governments and large environmental organizations benefitting from this colonial-style conservation. Now, alongside the Batwa communities, who recently won a historic victory securing recognition of their rights to their ancestral lands at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, we are demanding a drastic change of course by the conservation industry and Western donors – discard their outdated approach and adopt a new paradigm that recognizes, respects, and protects local and Indigenous communities as the best guardians of biodiversity.

These wins have led to new appeals from communities seeking support for their struggles against dangerous “conservation” schemes. Our year-end appeal is raising funds to support new partners with direct support, research, and campaigning that we are known for.

In this struggle to protect biodiversity by protecting the Indigenous stewards of the land, there can be no bystanders. This fight belongs to us all. Join us!

With fierce hope & determination
Andy, Frederic, Doug, Anuradha and the whole team at the Oakland Institute

Further Reading

•   Pulling Back the Curtain: How the US Drives Tanzania’s War on the Indigenous

•   Setting the Record Straight About Evictions & Abuses to Expand Ruaha National Park

The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank, bringing fresh ideas and bold action to the most pressing social, economic, and environmental issues of our time. This struggle for human rights, freedom and dignity for all is powered by generous individuals who offer financial support to hold powerful actors accountable for their abuses and the harms they cause.