Criticism of German Delegation’s Visit to Tanzania: Maasai Call for Independent Investigation into German Nature Conservation Funding

The human rights organizations Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and FIAN Germany are calling on the German federal government to commission an independent investigation into the human rights impacts of German nature conservation and development projects in Tanzania and to take the related complaints from Maasai communities seriously. This call follows a visit by a German government and development delegation to Loliondo, Tanzania, on August 17, 2026. The delegation included representatives from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the Frankfurt Zoological Society (ZGF), and the German Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

During a meeting with the German institutions, Maasai representatives and Tanzanian civil society organizations expressed serious concerns regarding land rights, livelihoods, and the participation of the Maasai, as well as current nature conservation policies. In a joint statement dated August 24, they called for an independent, transparent, and human rights-based investigation into their complaints.

“German development cooperation must not finance nature conservation projects that violate the rights of the affected population. The German government cannot simply rest on the fact that Tanzanian authorities are responsible for actions on the ground. Those who finance, help shape, and provide political support for projects also bear responsibility for their human rights impacts,” explains Laura Mahler, STP’s Advisor for Sub-Saharan Africa. “The German government must publicly address the allegations and ensure that German development funds are not used to displace the Maasai,” she demands.

“Nature conservation with the communities, not over their heads” is the central demand of the Tanzanian organizations. STP and FIAN join their appeal to the BMZ to formally acknowledge the complaints raised and to initiate an independent investigation. Affected communities must be directly and confidentially involved in this process. In addition, the organizations are calling for a review of the projects with regard to land and participation rights, as well as the principle of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC)—which is binding under international law—that protects Indigenous Peoples from expropriation, land grabbing, and displacement. The results and the measures derived from them should be communicated transparently.

“Human rights standards must not only come into play once a development project has already caused conflicts. They must form the basis of planning, financing, and implementation from the very beginning,” said Mahler.

In their statement, the Maasai also call on KfW and ZGF to disclose which protection standards for the rights of Indigenous Peoples apply to their projects in Tanzania and how participation, FPIC, the protection of land and livelihoods, and effective grievance mechanisms are ensured. “ZGF and KfW must explain how these standards have been implemented in practice and make the results of previous studies available to those affected,” said Roman Herre of FIAN. The organizations are calling on GIZ to review its previous analysis of Loliondo. In doing so, greater consideration must be given to the extent to which restrictive nature conservation and land-use policies themselves contribute to the insecurity of livelihoods.

For further inquiries, please contact:

From FIAN Germany

Roman Herre, FIAN Germany, 65]?2:7o6CC69]C, 01520 7067 302

From STP