Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Protected area / relocation · Tanzania · 1992–2026

Ngorongoro and Loliondo relocations

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
People
  • More than 82,000 people were displaced or listed for relocation.
    Listed for relocation (Human Rights Watch); 7.3% of target households had moved by March 2026.
  • More than 40 people were injured.
    Loliondo, 10 June 2022.
  • 2 people died. not independently verified
    One police officer and one Maasai reported dead; not independently verified.
What the record lacks: 7 none on record · 3 insufficient · 2 not measured · 5 disputed · 2 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Has Ngorongoro been degraded, and by how much?
  • Government and regulators Government spokesperson: Ngorongoro was 44% degraded.
  • Researchers No independent source: No independent measurement found.

The Tanzanian government has set aside land in Loliondo to protect the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and has been relocating residents of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Msomera since June 2022, with a target above 82,000 people. It calls the relocation voluntary; Human Rights Watch reported that services were cut to push people out. A UAE-based company has held exclusive hunting rights over 400,000 hectares since 1992.

≈ $86m estimateConservation-area revenue, 2023–24
Estimate at TSh 2,550/$; conservation spending not itemised.

Status As of March 2026: relocation continuing; reported 7% of residents relocated; court outcomes contested or unclear.

What?
Tanzania's government set aside 1,500 km² of Loliondo to protect the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and began relocating Maasai residents of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Msomera, about 600 km away. Human Rights Watch says more than 82,000 people are targeted; by March 2026 a presidential commission found 7.3% of target households had moved. Human Rights Watch
Where?
Loliondo (1,500 of its 4,000 km², the Pololeti game area) and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania; relocated residents are moved to Msomera, about 600 km away. Human Rights Watch
When?
Hunting concession since 1992; Loliondo demarcation and violence on 10 June 2022, with Ngorongoro relocations under way since 2022. The High Court voided the Pololeti game area on 19 September 2023, a dismissal was reported on 24 October 2024, and in March 2026 the President said the exercise would continue after corrections. The Chanzo
Who?
Gained
  • Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority — Revenue rose from TSh 91.13bn (2021–22) to TSh 219.55bn (2023–24), about $86m at an assumed rate (estimate), with 908,627 visitors; TSh 693.96bn over four years. Daily News
  • Otterlo Business Corporation (UAE-based hunting company) — Exclusive hunting rights over 400,000 ha since 1992; Amnesty International links it to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Its fees to the state appear in no source. Amnesty International
  • &Beyond (lodge operator) — Holds a lodge lease in the area; it said it "cannot disclose the terms". Amnesty International
Lost
  • Maasai pastoralists in Loliondo — About 70,000 people lost access to pasture after the 2022 demarcation, according to Amnesty International. Amnesty International
  • Maasai residents of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area — More than 82,000 people listed for relocation about 600 km away; HRW says they are "forcibly evicted under the guise of voluntary relocation". Human Rights Watch
Harmed
  • Protesters in Loliondo — More than 40 people wounded on 10 June 2022 (Amnesty International). Amnesty International
  • Ngorongoro residents — Human Rights Watch documented 13 beatings by rangers. Human Rights Watch
  • Ngorongoro Conservation Area — "Destroyed by 44 percent", according to the government spokesperson; no independent measurement is on record. The Citizen
Why?
The government says the land was set aside to protect the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem; its spokesperson said in January 2024 the conservation area was "destroyed by 44 percent", risked reaching 67%, and that tourists come to see wild animals, "not livestock". The Citizen
How?
The state demarcated a game area in Loliondo and offered Ngorongoro households relocation to Msomera, with a house plus TSh 10m per household in phase one; TSh 212.35bn was allocated for relocation. The Chanzo
In proportion The TSh 212.35bn relocation budget is about 97% of one year of the conservation area's revenue (TSh 219.55bn, 2023–24; estimate). The Chanzo
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area has been a UNESCO site since 1979. Since June 2022 residents have been relocated to Msomera, about 600 km away, under a programme the government describes as voluntary, with a target of more than 82,000 people. Human Rights Watch reported on 31 July 2024 that services were cut to push people out. The sources reviewed record 8,960 people relocated in 2022–2024. A March 2026 report in The Chanzo, headlined that only 7% of Ngorongoro residents had relocated, said a commission had told President Samia that the exercise was poorly managed.

In Loliondo, adjacent to the conservation area, the government said that 1,500 km² of the 4,000 km² area was set aside to protect the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and 2,500 km² for community use; the same split appeared in a 2013 government press release. Amnesty International reported in 2023 on forced evictions of Maasai in the area and in August 2024 said private businesses in Tanzania were complicit in forced evictions.

A government spokesperson said Ngorongoro had been 44% degraded; the sources reviewed report no independent measurement of that figure. The area's management plan expired in 2016. Reporting on the Tanzanian government's position under the headline “relocations were meant to protect Ngorongoro” appeared in The Citizen.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) had revenue of TSh 91 billion in 2021–22, rising to TSh 220 billion (about USD 86 million) in 2023–24, with 908,000 visitors; four-year revenue totalled TSh 694 billion. The relocation budget was TSh 212 billion. Conservation spending is not itemised; the NCAA lists TSh 10.47 billion for a new headquarters and TSh 14.99 billion for tourist access.

A UAE-based hunting company, Otterlo Business Corporation, has held hunting rights over 400,000 hectares since 1992. Amnesty International links the company to the ruler of Dubai and wrote that it took part in all the forced evictions. The company did not respond. The fee it pays the state does not appear in any source reviewed.

  1. 1979Ngorongoro Conservation Area becomes a UNESCO site
  2. 1992Otterlo Business Corporation receives exclusive hunting rights over 400,000 ha
  3. 2013Government press release gives the 1,500 / 2,500 km² Loliondo split
  4. 2016Management plan of the conservation area expires
  5. 2022Loliondo demarcation; more than 40 wounded (10 June); relocation to Msomera begins (June); case dismissed at East African Court of Justice (September)
  6. 2023Amnesty report on forced evictions (June); High Court nullifies Pololeti Game Controlled Area (19 September, contested); EACJ appeals division overturns dismissal (November)
  7. 2024Human Rights Watch report: 82,000+ targeted for relocation (31 July); Amnesty on business complicity (August); reported dismissal of challenge to the Reserve (24 October, contested)
  8. 2026Presidential commission reported to have said only 7% of target households had relocated (March)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“Currently, it's destroyed by 44 percent.”

Mobhare Matinyi, government spokesperson · 17 January 2024 · The Citizen

“Forcibly evicted under the guise of voluntary relocation.”

“We will continue with the exercise, but after making the necessary corrections.”

President Samia Suluhu Hassan · March 2026 · The Chanzo

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Is the relocation voluntary?
Government and regulators
Government of Tanzania

The relocation is voluntary and was meant to protect Ngorongoro.

The Citizen
Communities and civil society
Human Rights Watch

Services were cut to push people out; Juliana Nnoko of Human Rights Watch said residents were “forcibly evicted under the guise of voluntary relocation”.

Human Rights Watch
Communities and civil society
Amnesty International

Reported forced evictions of Maasai and private business complicity.

Amnesty International
Has Ngorongoro been degraded, and by how much?
Government and regulators
Government spokesperson

Ngorongoro was 44% degraded.

Researchers
No independent source

No independent measurement found.

Role of the hunting concession in the evictions
Communities and civil society
Amnesty International

Linked Otterlo Business Corporation to the ruler of Dubai and wrote that it took part in all the forced evictions.

Amnesty International
Company or project
Otterlo Business Corporation

Did not respond.

Amnesty International

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The relocation is voluntary
    Government of Tanzania
  • 1,500 km² of Loliondo set aside to protect the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem; 2,500 km² for community use
    Government of Tanzania
  • Ngorongoro is 44% degraded
    Government spokesperson

Recorded

  • Services were cut to push people out of Ngorongoro
    Human Rights Watch
  • 30,000 animals seized, and the area's main hospital reduced to a dispensary, according to the evidence cited
    Human Rights Watch
  • 8,960 people relocated in 2022–2024 against a target of more than 82,000
    Down To Earth
  • NCAA revenue TSh 91 billion (2021–22), TSh 220 billion (2023–24); 908,000 visitors; four-year total TSh 694 billion
    Daily News
  • Relocation budget TSh 212 billion; conservation spending not itemised
  • High Court nullified the Pololeti Game Controlled Area on 19 September 2023
  • Otterlo Business Corporation has held exclusive hunting rights over 400,000 hectares since 1992.
    Amnesty International

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
Itemised conservation spending—
Not published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Conservation-area revenue, 2023–24 estimate$86m
TSh 219.55bn at an assumed TSh 2,550/$.
Hunting concession revenue—
Unknown.
Currency: USD · Window: 2023–24. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • tanzania-gov (2022–2024): Described the relocation as voluntary; said the relocations were meant to protect Ngorongoro; said 1,500 km² of Loliondo was set aside for conservation. · The Citizen
  • obc (2024): Did not respond to Amnesty International. · Amnesty International

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2023-11Claimant won
    East African Court of Justice case on the Loliondo matter
    East African Court of Justice · International court · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed

    The court dismissed the case in September 2022; its appeals division overturned that in November 2023.

  2. 2023-09-19Claimant won
    Pololeti Game Controlled Area
    High Court of Tanzania · Administrative · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed

    The High Court nullified the Pololeti Game Controlled Area on 19 September 2023 (MISA).

  3. 2024-10-24Outcome not on record
    Challenge to the Reserve
    High Court of Tanzania · Administrative · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed

    Witness Radio reports a dismissal on 24 October 2024; reported but not independently verified, and contested or unclear.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Independent measurement of the 44% degradation figure
None found
The figure is the government's own
Management plan
Expired 2016
No replacement recorded in the sources reviewed
Itemised conservation spending
Not disclosed
NCAA lists TSh 10.47 billion for a new headquarters and TSh 14.99 billion for tourist access

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Displacement reportedCase pending / contestedNo independent ecological evaluationKey earnings undisclosedDeaths alleged, not verified

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
  • Disputed Has Ngorongoro been degraded, and by how much?

Money

Court

  • Unclear Challenge to the Reserve: outcome not on record.

Figures

  • Insufficient Deaths: One police officer and one Maasai reported dead; not independently verified.

Accounts

  • Disputed Is the relocation voluntary?
  • Disputed Role of the hunting concession in the evictions
  • None on record No independent source: No independent measurement found.
  • None on record Otterlo Business Corporation: Did not respond.

Record

  • Not measured The 44% degradation figure is the government's own; no independent measurement is on record.
  • Unclear Detailed conservation spending has not been disclosed.
  • None on record The fee Otterlo Business Corporation pays the state is not stated in any source reviewed; its income from the concession is not known.
  • None on record A link between the hunting concession and the Ngorongoro evictions is not established in the sources reviewed.
  • None on record A luxury tourism company said it could not disclose the terms of its lease.
  • Disputed Court outcomes are contested or unclear: the High Court nullified the Pololeti Game Controlled Area on 19 September 2023; Witness Radio reports a dismissal of the challenge to the Reserve on 24 October 2024 (reported but not independently verified).
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the Prime Minister said no one would be evicted.
  • Insufficient Deaths in the 2022 Loliondo events, one police officer and one Maasai, are reported but not independently verified.
  • Disputed Figures on how many people have relocated differ in basis: 8,960 people in 2022–2024 against a target of more than 82,000 (as reported by Down To Earth, The Citizen and Human Rights Watch), and, in March 2026, 7% of residents (The Chanzo headline) or 7.3% of target households; the sources reviewed do not reconcile people and households or the dates.

Did the harm stop?

Not on record. The relocation was continuing as of the March 2026 report.

Who paid?

Relocated residents and pastoralists, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International (about 70,000 people lost access to pasture, per Amnesty; more than 82,000 listed for relocation, per Human Rights Watch); the relocation budget was TSh 212 billion.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Places and local terms

Game area
In Tanzania, an area declared for wildlife where hunting is regulated and settlement or grazing may be restricted.
Hunting concession
An exclusive licence from a government to run hunting on a defined area of land.
Maasai
A pastoralist people of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, including the Ngorongoro and Loliondo areas.
Msomera
A village in Tanzania's Tanga region, about 600 km from Ngorongoro, where relocated residents are being moved.
Pastoralists
People whose livelihoods depend on moving livestock between grazing lands.

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Carbon and conservation finance

Voluntary carbon market
Trade in carbon credits bought by choice, mostly by companies, outside legally binding emission schemes.
Similar cases
Carbon credits · Protected area / relocation · Kenya · 2012–2026
Northern Kenya Grasslands Carbon Project and the Isiolo court ruling
Same type: Protected area / relocationSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Protected area / relocation · Kenya · 2007–2024
World Bank and development bank accountability mechanisms: Embobut (Sengwer), Tata Mundra, Arun III, Jale, Cambodia
Same type: Protected area / relocationSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Protected area / relocation · Water use · Kenya · 2014–2024
Sengwer evictions from Embobut forest and the EU Water Towers programme (Kenya)
Same type: Protected area / relocationSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Protected area / relocation · Kenya · 2001–2024
Mau Forest loss and forest excisions (Kenya)
Same type: Protected area / relocationSame regionCourt: won by claimant, outcome not on record
Tree planting · Protected area / relocation · Kenya · 2018–2024
Kenya logging ban lifted and eucalyptus felling
Same type: Protected area / relocationSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Protected area / relocation · Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda · 1991–2025
UNESCO World Heritage listings and Indigenous rights
Same type: Protected area / relocationSame regionCourt: won by claimant