- Environmental justice means ensuring fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, income, or social status, in environmental laws, policies, and conservation initiatives.
- It seeks to prevent marginalized or Indigenous communities from being disproportionately affected by environmental harm or being excluded from the benefits of conservation.
- In biodiversity conservation, environmental justice ensures that efforts to protect nature do not harm or displace the people who have historically lived sustainably within those environments.
The Link Between Conservation and Social Inequality
- Many regions rich in biodiversity are home to Indigenous or low-income populations, especially in the Global South.
- These communities often rely directly on forests, rivers, and grasslands for their livelihoods, including food, grazing land, and cultural identity.
- Conservation efforts that exclude or displace them can lead to:
- Loss of land and resources
- Increased poverty and food insecurity
- Cultural erosion and loss of traditional practices
- Social injustice and conflict
- Indigenous peoples manage or occupy around 25% of Earth’s land, which contains about 80% of global biodiversity.
- Conservation that ignores their role risks harming both people and ecosystems.
The Maasai in the Serengeti, Tanzania
Background
- The Maasai are a semi-nomadic Indigenous community residing across Kenya and Tanzania.
- Their livelihood revolves around extensive pastoralism, herding cattle, goats, and sheep across open rangelands.
- Cattle hold deep economic, cultural, and spiritual significance within Maasai society, serving as a source of food (milk, meat, blood) and a marker of social status.
Creation of Serengeti National Park
- Established in 1951, the Serengeti National Park aimed to protect one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth.
- To achieve this, Maasai communities were evicted from their ancestral lands and relocated to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
- Although Ngorongoro was initially designed as a multiple-use area allowing coexistence of wildlife and pastoralists, subsequent regulations restricted grazing and cultivation.
Consequences of Displacement
- Loss of livelihood: Restricted grazing land reduced the number of livestock Maasai could sustain, undermining food security and income.
- Cultural disruption: Forced relocation disrupted the Maasai’s cultural practices tied to land, herding, and spiritual traditions.
- Economic marginalization: Limited access to fertile land pushed many Maasai into poverty, while tourism and hunting concessions benefitted external groups.
- Environmental irony: Despite being removed in the name of conservation, Maasai grazing practices had historically maintained grassland ecosystems and prevented bush encroachment.
