Selous Game Reserve-SGR
Selous, spanning nearly 50,000 square kilometers, safeguards one-third of Tanzania's wildlife estate, boasting a thriving population of elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, ungulates, and crocodiles. This vast sanctuary, characterized by diverse vegetation zones, remains largely undisturbed by human interference, featuring everything from dense forests and thickets to open wooded grasslands and riverine swamps.http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/selous-game-reserve/
The game reserve https://www.selousgamereserve.net/
In 1982, this site earned UNESCO World Heritage status for its rich wildlife diversity and pristine environment, meeting the Natural Criteria ix and x.http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/selous-game-reserve/
The Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) and Singapore-registered company GreenCop Development have forged a Memorandum of Understanding to spearhead a carbon-offset project, aiming to tap into the lucrative carbon credit market and fund conservation across a vast 2.4 million-hectare territory in Southern Tanzania. This initiative, spanning Selous, Msanjeni, and Kilombero game reserves, not only pledges to create green jobs and generate substantial revenue but also underscores a commitment to address climate change, protect nature, and foster local economic benefits through the sale of carbon credits on the international market.https://apta.biz/2023/05/19/tanzania-developing-africas-largest-carbon-offset-project/
Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Governmental Organization's Forum (PINGOs)
Phone: +255-786-542525
Email: info@pingosforum.or.tz
Website: https://pingosforum.or.tz/
Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC)
Phone: +255 769 642 208
Email: info@thrdc.or.tz
Website: thrdc.or.tz
Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT)
Phone: +255 767 568 444
Email: info@ujamaa-crt.or.tz
Website: https://www.ujamaa-crt.or.tz/
PAICODEO P.O.BOX 894 – Morogoro – Tanzania Email: paicodeo@gmail.com
INTERNATIONAL WORK GROUP FOR INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS Classensgade 11 E, DK 2100 - Copenhagen, Denmark Tel: (+45) 35 27 05 00 - E-mail: iwgia@iwgia.org - Web: www.iwgia.org
From 2000 to 2003, Tanzanian and German research institutions collaborated on a project spearheaded by the Berlin-based Institute of Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research. The primary aim was to establish a robust scientific foundation to inform planned conservation activities.http://www.wildlife-baldus.com/download/sn-brochure.pdf
Since early 2005, the German Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM), has been actively engaged in the corridor. This integrated expert focuses on assisting the Namtumbo and Tunduru Districts of Ruvuma-Region and their communities in the sustainable management of natural resources and establishing Wildlife Management Areas (WMA).http://www.wildlife-baldus.com/download/sn-brochure.pdf
InWent has initiated the TRANSNET program, a capacity-building initiative to foster transboundary dialogue and promote the sustainable management of natural resources for regional integration and rural development in the SADC and EAC regions.http://www.wildlife-baldus.com/download/sn-brochure.pdf
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) is actively aiding the Wildlife Division in establishing Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) south of the Selous Game Reserve. Through collaboration with local and district authorities, villages register two WMAs, encompassing a total area of around 4,500 km2.http://www.wildlife-baldus.com/download/sn-brochure.pdf
Since 2005, with support from the Global Environment Facility/UNDP, the "Development and Management of the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor" project has extended community-based natural resources management from the Selous' southern support zone to the Mozambique border. http://www.wildlife-baldus.com/download/sn-brochure.pdf
The project aims to kickstart economically sustainable development and conservation management for one of the most significant and widely recognized wildlife corridors in the SADC Region.
WWF commends the Tanzanian government's unwavering commitment, as expressed by the Tanzanian Wildlife Authority, to halt future mining in the Selous Game Reserve. This decision safeguards the 48 prospective mining concessions that overlapped the Selous as of January 2017, ensuring they remain unexplored, with no new concessions to be granted.https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?300615/No-More-mining-in-the-Selous-Game-Reserve--Tanzania-Government
Following the 2009 revision of the Wildlife Act, a newly established Wildlife Authority within the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism now oversees all reserves. http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/selous-game-reserve/
The Wildlife Division operates within Tanzania's Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT).
LOCATED: Capital City of Tanznia: Dodoma
Contact:
(+255) 22 2861870,
(+255) 22 2861871,
(+255) 22 2861872
Fax: (+255) 22 2864217
MINISTER: Hon. Angellah Jasmine Mbelwa Kairuki
DEPUTY MINISTER: Mr. Dunstan Luka Kitandula
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit- GTZ; info@giz.de
The German Development Bank KfW; info@kfw-ipex-bank.de
The Global Environment Facility/UNDP: communications@thegef.org
The World Wildlife Fund-WWF; mrktmail@wwfus.org
Established as a protected area in 1896 by German Governor Hermann von Wissmann, the Selous Game Reserve evolved from a hunting ground into a named reserve in 1922. Named after renowned hunter Frederick Courtney Selous, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. However, in 2019, the Tanzanian government, led by President Magufuli, partitioned a substantial portion to form a new national park managed by TANAPA. Controversially, plans for a large dam to provide hydroelectricity to local villages sparked criticism from conservationists and economists.https://www.brilliant-africa.com/tanzania/selous-game-reserve
Operation Save Kilombero Valley reveals a distressing narrative of forceful tactics deployed against Indigenous People, particularly Sukuma, Maasai, and Barabaig pastoralists, who confronted threats and eviction from their ancestral lands in the Kilombero and Ulanga districts. The government justified these evictions by alleging that the pastoralists' livestock had negatively impacted the wetlands and water sources. By 2012, around 2,000 people were displaced, while seven pastoralists lost their lives in the face of violence, exposing the severe human rights violations endured by these marginalized communities. With a budget of USD 63,633, the operation, deemed successful, involved forcibly removing 280,800 cattle, subjecting them to fees and auctions, and inflicting financial burdens on the affected communities through inflated transport costs, roadblocks, and extortion fees.https://www.iwgia.org/images/publications/0727_Report_23_Tanzania_for_eb.pdf
On 17 March 2012, resulting in five fatalities and allegations of murder, corruption, and theft by the perpetrators, yet no arrests have been made. Additionally, on 12 November 2012, three unarmed brothers were shot by police in Kilombero District, with one fatality. On 31 January 2013, an unarmed pastoralist was shot and killed in Ulanga District, highlighting a disturbing pattern of violence and a lack of accountability that has left the affected community living in fear without access to justice or protection.https://www.iwgia.org/images/publications/0727_Report_23_Tanzania_for_eb.pdf
Mining activities.
Tanzanian CSOs have successfully advocated for community rights on international platforms, presenting reports to UN bodies and other human rights organizationshttps://www.iwgia.org/images/publications/0727_Report_23_Tanzania_for_eb.pdf
Despite dismissing certain recommendations, the government supported calls for investigating violence by security forces and establishing an independent complaint mechanism.https://www.iwgia.org/images/publications/0727_Report_23_Tanzania_for_eb.pdf
TO BE COMPLETED BY AFFECTED INDIGENOUS PEOPLES