Conservation and human rights are two issues that many people may not often connect. In the last four months, there have been various reports of successes and failures in the areas of conservation, Indigenous Peoples, and the environment.
In April 2022, Minority Rights International, an NGO focused on the promotion and protection of minority people around the world, issued a bleak report on the Batwa People in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report documented systematic violence, including gang rape, against the Batwa for living and using the resources of their traditional homeland, also known as Kahuzi Biega National Park. The Park is important as it is also occupied by the gorillas which bring tourism to the area. Within the same timeframe, the government of Tanzania made plans to work with a corporation from the United Arab Emirates to build a trophy-hunting tourist resort, which sealed the fate of approximately 70,000 Masaai People, Pastoralists who have resided in the area for generations. Both the Batwa and the Masaai have been dealing with these issues for years and little has been done by the international community to emphasize the rights to their land, culture, and way of life. We are fortunate in this issue to hear directly from a lawyer who is part of the Maasai community.
