WWF, Tourism, and Human Rights Violations in the NCA

This powerful report by the University of Arizona’s Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program reveals how the World Wildlife Fund’s tourism partnership with luxury tour operator Natural Habitat Adventures profits from conservation tourism in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area—while the Tanzanian government forcibly evicts the Maasai from their ancestral lands. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and international human rights standards, the report challenges WWF’s complicity and calls for accountability.

Key Takeaways:

• WWF Tourism Partnership: WWF and NatHab offer high-end safari tours in the NCA, generating revenue from a protected area where Indigenous communities are under threat.

• Maasai Evictions: Up to 100,000 Maasai are being displaced by the Tanzanian government, despite their sustainable stewardship of the land.

• Human Rights Violations: Authorities are withholding healthcare, water, and education to coerce “voluntary” relocation—actions deemed a war on the Maasai.

• WWF's Contradiction: WWF claims to support Indigenous rights, yet profits from tours in regions where those rights are being systematically violated.

• Environmental Hypocrisy: Mass tourism—not the Maasai—is degrading the NCA ecosystem through traffic, pollution, and habitat disruption.

• Call to Action: The report urges WWF to suspend its partnership and stop accepting tourism profits until the evictions end.

Read the full report to learn why environmental justice must include Indigenous rights.