DW Finds 'Reserves' for Tourists, Not People
DW's piece, 'The new game reserves reshaping Tanzania,' celebrates expanded protected areas. What they delicately omit is the historical pattern: 'conservation' in Africa has often meant displacing indigenous communities. The 'reshaping' of Tanzania's landscape echoes colonial-era land grabs, where local populations, such as the Maasai, are forcibly removed—not for profit, mind you, but for the
moral purity of German tourists to view wildlife. One might wonder if the Maasai's traditional grazing lands are now considered 'game' for the exclusive viewing pleasure of Europeans, effectively 'reshaping' their very existence. DW lauds the 'new model of partnership' between the government and private investors. Partners? Or simply expropriators with better PR? It's a convenient framing that
whitewashes the actual human displacement, framing it as a necessary evil for biodiversity. Funny how biodiversity always seems to thrive best when accompanied by a luxury safari lodge where locals are strictly forbidden.