The World Bank, an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development, has announced its decision to withdraw a $150 million tourism development initiative in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park due to allegations of human rights violations by the park authorities.
This decision represents a considerable setback for the project, which was intended to enhance tourism and conservation efforts within one of Tanzania’s largest national parks.
According to local news sources, the Tanzanian government’s plans to expand Ruaha National Park could potentially displace 21,000 local residents.
The initiative, known as Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW), was aimed at increasing tourism revenue in Ruaha and other southern parks in Tanzania, which attract fewer visitors compared to the more famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro parks in the north. In 2008, the Tanzanian government issued a decree that expanded Ruaha’s boundaries, a decision reaffirmed in 2022. Implementing this plan could necessitate the eviction of tens of thousands of villagers.
The Oakland Institute, a US-based advocacy organization, along with local residents,claimed that rangers from the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) have engaged in a campaign of intimidation against pastoralists and farmers within the expansion zone. This campaign allegedly includes tactics such as extrajudicial killings, cattle confiscation, and enforced disappearances.
Oakland Institute posted statements from ‘affected villagers’ expressing their opposition to the proposed expansion of Ruaha.
“Our lives are in a state of uncertainty as the constant threat of eviction hangs over us daily. For years, our livelihoods have been compromised, our children are unable to attend school, our farms remain uncultivated, and our cattle continue to be forcibly taken from us. We cannot endure this situation any longer,” they stated.
In 2023, the Oakland Institute assisted two local residents in submitting a complaint against REGROW to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel, alleging that the bank had not adhered to its internal safeguard policies.
In response to the allegations, the bank dispatched a delegation to investigate the claims and subsequently suspended funding to REGROW in April 2024. By November 2024, the project was officially terminated at the request of the Tanzanian government.
In a statement published on its website, the Oakland Institute urged the Tanzanian government to reconsider its plans for the expansion of Ruaha and to provide compensation to villagers for the cattle that were confiscated and the fines they incurred from TANAPA.
According to the executive director of the organization, both – the government and the World Bank must be held responsible for the damage inflicted due to their neglect of fundamental human rights, all in the pursuit of boosting tourism revenue.
