The IPLP Program’s Indigenous Rights & Protected Areas Initiative aligns with global efforts to address human rights concerns stemming from conservation policies that exclude Indigenous communities.

Since 2003, WWF has partnered with a for-profit corporation, Natural Habitat Adventures (“NatHab” as it calls itself), to offer its customers “the opportunity to explore the world's wild places.” One of those “wild places” is Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), where as many as 100,000 Maasai Indigenous peoples are being evicted by the government and forced to leave their homes and the lands they’ve lived on for centuries.

The case studies show how the Indigenous Peoples of Kenya have lost land through annexation to create protected areas. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) manage these areas through fortress conservation methods with force and violence, targeting Indigenous Peoples. Similarly, private ecotourism ventures are negatively impacting Indigenous Peoples’ rights in Kenya.

This report on India’s Tiger Reserves, The World Wildlife Fund, and Violations of the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the second in a series produced by The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program (IPLP) Initiative on Indigenous Rights and Protected Areas.

Alternative Report To India’s Fourth Periodic Report Under Review By The UN Human Rights Committee At Its 141st Session (1st To 23rd July 2024)