Indigenous Maasai pastoralists in northern Tanzania are raising alarm over carbon credit initiatives, fearing they could lead to a new wave of land dispossession.
The Maasai International Solidarity Alliance (MISA) claims these projects are forcing the community off ancestral lands through complex financial contracts.
In Longido, 68-year-old Lepilal Ole Saitoti reflects on the changes around him.
His family’s traditional grazing grounds are now the center of carbon credit projects aimed at offsetting global carbon emissions.
These schemes, promoted by international corporations, encourage local communities to alter grazing practices to sell carbon credits.
However, Maasai activists argue these agreements endanger their cultural identity and economic survival.
Two major carbon projects—the Longido and Monduli Rangelands Carbon Project, supported by Volkswagen ClimatePartners, and the Resilient Tarangire Ecosystem Project led by The Nature Conservancy—have been implemented in the region, covering nearly 2 million hectares.
While these initiatives promise financial benefits, Maasai residents, such as Naramat Kilepo, feel deceived by promises of money, schools, and hospitals that have not materialized.
