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Issue 00536 |
September 20 - 26, 2008 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Conservation |
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NCAA By Arusha Times Correspondent Cultivation of
food crops in Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Arusha region will be
legalised under the proposed amendments of laws that governed it after
it was established. Pius Msekwa, the chairman of the NCA Authority says the measure has been proposed because food security there will continue to demand urgent attention of the government for a long time to come. Any form of farming was prohibited under the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority Act (Cap 284 R.E. 2002) that established the conservation area in 1959 as a multiple land use area. However, in the light of demand of the indigenous people living there, the government in 1992 allowed them to undertake small-scale cultivation of crops as a temporary measure. The measure was to expire in 1996 by which time it was expected that an alternative area for cultivation would have been found outside the 8,292 square kilometre conservation area. Mr. Msekwa told a meeting of Ngorongoro Pastoralist Council, a powerful lobby group that works in collaboration with NCAA to improve the welfare of the local communities there, that the permission is still effective todate. "That alternative area had not been found by the due date so the permission was extended to 1998 and is still effective todate" he said. He added that although land has been acquired at Oldonyo Sambu near the Kenyan border to resettle people who want to go into farming, only a small proportion will be relocated there. "Which means that large numbers of them will still remain in the conservation area. Consequently, the question of food security for them will continue to demand urgent attention" he said. The 2002 population census indicated that the number of residents within the conservation area at Ngorongoro was 60,000. There are also large herds of livestock. Mr. Msekwa noted that it would be prudent for NCAA to address the question of food scarcity in the semi-arid area by allowing people to undertake small scale farming. This, he stressed, can be done by giving legal effect to the 15-year-old government premission for small scale crop production to be undertaken by the Maasai of the area. He added that several laws governing the management and development of NCA are outdated and will be amended to match with time. The last amendments of the legislation of NCA which was estabished in 1959 were made in 1975, more than 30 years ago. "Considering the important socio-political developments which have taken place in our country in the intervening period, it is now an appropriate time to review this legislation" , he added. Briefing members of the Ngorongoro Pastoralist Council in Karatu last week, the board chairman said outdated provisions of the legislation that established NCA will be removed. "We will bring on board some new provisions which will correctly reflect the positive advances made in appreciateing the key concepts and principles of good governance,democracy and human rights" he said. One of the laws to be deleted is the appointment of senior officials of NCAA by the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism. These powers are now vested on the board of directors because the management of the Authority is no longer answerable directly to the minister. Other amendments would address the boundary of the crater rim which officials admitted has not been well defined, leading to legal technicalities. "This makes it difficult for the Authority to prosecute any person for tresspassing into the crater area", he told the Pastoralist Council's representatives at a meeting at Karatu. Ngorongoro crater supports 25,000 predominantly grazing animals and is the most outstanding natural attraction in the entire 8,292 square kilometre NCA and attracts more tourists than any other site there. It is also considered the largest unbroken caldera in the world and is 19 kilometre wide, 610 metre wide and covers 304 square kilometres. According to Mr. Msekwa, very few people are aware of the boundaries of the crater, with many generally assuming it extended for 500 metres from the edge of the rim. "It is similarly recommended that the crater boundary be prescribed through an appropriate proviside in the First Schedule of the Act that created NCAA" he said. The new legislation would also address the apparent conflicts which have existed in the area for many years, notably between conservation needs and the welfare of the indigenous communities living there. The conservation aspects has been buttressed by the high status of NCA conferred by the international community as a World Natural Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. At the same time the Act that established NCA required the Authority to safeguard and promote the interests of the Maasai livestock keepers living in the area. Mr. Msekwa said under the proposed amendments the presumed interests of the Maasai residents should be clearly defined by in the law. This, he says, will eliminate the obvious danger that such interests could be the surce of endless conflicts arising out of erroneous claims to certain rights "which are in fact non-existent in law and, therefore, non-claimable". med to address food shortage. Currently both the government and the conservation area authorities there are still undecided on the eviction of some pastoralist families which settled in NCA in latter years. The proposed relocation has been opposed by the local people with the support of the civil society organisations which claimed that the measure would impinge on the rights of the indigenous people. Ngorongoro conservation area is one of the leading tourist attractions in the country after the Serengeti National Park and Mt. Kilimanjaro and attracts nearly a half of tourists visiting Tanzania annually. It is estimated that 50 to 60 per cent of projected one million tourists who will be visiting Tanzania in 2010 will be heading to the area. Main attractions there include the crater and the Olduvai and Laetoli archaeological sites. During 2006, some 360,000 tourists visited the area, generating Sh. 20 billion to the economy. NCAA was projected to earn Sh. 38bn from tourism during 2007/2008 financial year.
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