World Bank Abdicates its Responsibility to Human Rights in Tanzania

The Tanzanian government’s plan to massively expand tourism across the country is no secret. In blind pursuit of attracting five million visitors annually and generating US$6 billion from the tourism sector by 2025, it has waged a brutal campaign against local and Indigenous communities living adjacent to Protected Areas (PAs).

The government’s denial of basic services to forcibly relocate 90,000 Maasai pastoralists in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) and the violent eviction of 70,000 from grazing lands in Loliondo have captured global headlines in recent years.

While the government has come under fire for these abuses, the role of the international “development” partners – such as the World Bank – has only recently been uncovered and deserves further scrutiny.