A/79/160
Ngorongoro, leading to the forced eviction of nearly 100,000 Indigenous Peoples,
mostly Maasai pastoralists who conserve and protect the grasslands through cattle herding. 95 The Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 grants the State control over
wildlife resources and the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the Land Laws of
1999 privatizes pastoralists’ land, allowing for the creation of wildlife management
regimes and hunting blocks in pastoralist areas, which has encouraged investment in
trophy hunting and other tourism ventures, leading to violence, killing and
criminalization of Maasai pastoralists. 96
44. In Uganda, Mt. Elgon National Park was created without seeking the free, prior
and informed consent of the Benet Mosopisyek pastoralists, despite judicial
recognition of their lands. To date, the Government has failed to provide the Benet
with adequate compensation, settlement solutions, or other forms of protection and
passed a law on conservation and sustainable management of wildlife without
consulting them. 97
45. After the Kenya Vision 2030 national development plan for afforestation
identified pastoralists and foragers as the main cause of deforestation, the
Government reportedly conducted forced evictions and set fire to houses in a
protected area established on the lands of the Samburu cattle-herders and the Dorobo
bee and plant foragers. 98 Ogiek hunter-gatherers were forcibly removed from their
lands after forest rangers burned their homes and schools, contrary to the ruling of
the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights affirming their land ownership. 99 The
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights also recognized the Endorois
pastoralists’ rights to lands, benefit-sharing and compensation, after they were evicted
to create Lake Bogoria Game Reserve without any consultation or compensation and
against their objections. 100
46. The Forest (Conservation) Act of India, of 1980, has increased the number of
protected areas and failed to recognize the rights of pastoralists. 101 The Van Gujjars
of Uttarakhand semi-mobile pastoralists engage in rotational grazing and seasonal
migration of buffaloes. They struggle to maintain their mobility since their forced
eviction from Rajaji National Park and sometimes abandon transhumance in order to
sustain claims to lands. The Van Gujjar Tribal Youth Sangathan has revived a
customary afforestation practice, planting native tree species beneficial for
pastoralism. The trees protect the soil from erosion, conserve biodiversity and provide
livestock fodder. 102
2.
Extractive industries and other commercial activities
47. Mobile Indigenous Peoples have had their lands and waterways confiscated for
large-scale projects, extractive activities, commercial agriculture and so -called
“development” projects. 103 In many circumstances, they are not included in decision making, nor do they have access to grievance mechanisms, compensation or benefit sharing. Processes for securing free, prior and informed consent are often absent, not
followed properly, or consent may be coerced. 104 Those who resist extractive projects
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95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
24-13045
Communication No. COD 1/2018.
Communication No. TZA 2/2019.
Communication No. UGA 1/2024.
University of Shizuoka, Japan submission.
Communication Nos. KEN 4/2023; KEN 3/2020; KEN 2/2016.
Communication No. KEN 2/2021.
International Land Coalition, “The pastoralist parliament in India: amplifying community voices”,
31 August 2021; and CERD/C/IND/CO/19.
Van Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sanghatan submission.
Inisiasi Masyarakat Adat submission.
International Land Coalition submission.
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