WATALII
Watalli (tourists) play a powerful role in Tanzania as the tourism industry dictates what parts of Tanzania are accessible and to whom.
WHO REAPS THE BENEFITS?
We sat on the edge of a patio of a tourist lodge looking over Tarangire National Park. I was entranced by the vast space and land and we could see elephants, giraffes, and gazelles wandering the among the trees. In that moment I felt so grateful to be witnessing such beauty and acknowledged my power and privilege as a Western tourist is what allowed me to be one of the few to enjoy this experience.
When Tanzania declared independence, President Nyere spoke on his plans for conservation. As a part of this speech he declared, "In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children's grand-children will be able to enjoy this rich and precious inheritance" (Kideghesho 2008). In reality, few Tanzanians benefit from the parks and even fewer have the opportunity to enter them. As stated earlier, it was the Germans and later the British that enacted wildlife protection practices, expressively prohibiting Tanzanians from hunting or trespassing on protected land. They relocated native groups of people and dictated the boundaries of the parks based on wildlife populations as well as their own economic and political priorities, such as the lack of mineral deposits in the Serengeti. These colonial policies carried over with Tanzania's independence. Although wildlife tourism benefits the country nationally, local Tanzanians are suffering from animal preservation -induced costs while foreigners reap the benefits (Kideghesho 2008).
It was the West that dictated how should Tanzanians utilize their land and today it is mostly Westerners who benefit from those policies. Sitting atop Tarangire National Park, it was important to realize who dictated that this land should be preserved and with what motives. It is ideal to picture this land as a part of Tanzania, yet it is isolated from most Tanzanians. Even today, the National Parks have a shoot-to kill policy for any persons found trespassing in the preserves.
When Tanzania declared independence, President Nyere spoke on his plans for conservation. As a part of this speech he declared, "In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children's grand-children will be able to enjoy this rich and precious inheritance" (Kideghesho 2008). In reality, few Tanzanians benefit from the parks and even fewer have the opportunity to enter them. As stated earlier, it was the Germans and later the British that enacted wildlife protection practices, expressively prohibiting Tanzanians from hunting or trespassing on protected land. They relocated native groups of people and dictated the boundaries of the parks based on wildlife populations as well as their own economic and political priorities, such as the lack of mineral deposits in the Serengeti. These colonial policies carried over with Tanzania's independence. Although wildlife tourism benefits the country nationally, local Tanzanians are suffering from animal preservation -induced costs while foreigners reap the benefits (Kideghesho 2008).
It was the West that dictated how should Tanzanians utilize their land and today it is mostly Westerners who benefit from those policies. Sitting atop Tarangire National Park, it was important to realize who dictated that this land should be preserved and with what motives. It is ideal to picture this land as a part of Tanzania, yet it is isolated from most Tanzanians. Even today, the National Parks have a shoot-to kill policy for any persons found trespassing in the preserves.
ENVIRONMENTALISM
Land policies are shaped by how people perceive their relationship with the environment. As students who chose a program focused on wildlife conservation, we are all concerned with the preservation of the earth's resources. Driving through the parks it was difficult to not be struck by the beauty of nature. It sparked a greater appreciation of the earth, but at what cost to the environment?
One of our instructors discussed with us the negative environmental implications associated with the amount of safari cars that come into Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It would seem that a clear solution would be to decrease the amount of traffic, and verify that all vehicles are at maximum capacity. However, many tourists would rather pay extra to have the comfort and intimacy of a private safari car. It is a part of the desired experience to enjoy the beauty of nature without the presence of strangers. There is an interesting contradiction in the idealization of the environment while contributing to its degradation.
In Tanzania, tourists and locals have very different interpretations and concepts of nature. For tourists, the image of nature is romanticized and is often the place of individual fulfillment. The local tourism industry is based on marketing the beauty of native wildlife. Stephan Gossling writes in his article, "Human-Environmental Relations with Tourism," “In order to market the image of a tropical paradise, the industry transforms landscapes into products and commodities." In this way, nature is separated from humans and is depicted as something to be consumed and also protected. In contrast, the locals see their environment as providing life-supporting resources. Nature is not something separate, but embedded into their everyday practices and survival. Due to these different interpretations, there are contradicting opinions on how to use, protect, and conserve the environment.
The Tanzanian government favors protecting areas which yield financial benefits, however environmental conservation is a Western concept based on the notion that many ecosystems can only be sustained in protected areas. It is this mindset that dominates the narrative surrounding Tanzania's land resources where land is meant to be preserved and only consumed in the comfort of a safari car.
One of our instructors discussed with us the negative environmental implications associated with the amount of safari cars that come into Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It would seem that a clear solution would be to decrease the amount of traffic, and verify that all vehicles are at maximum capacity. However, many tourists would rather pay extra to have the comfort and intimacy of a private safari car. It is a part of the desired experience to enjoy the beauty of nature without the presence of strangers. There is an interesting contradiction in the idealization of the environment while contributing to its degradation.
In Tanzania, tourists and locals have very different interpretations and concepts of nature. For tourists, the image of nature is romanticized and is often the place of individual fulfillment. The local tourism industry is based on marketing the beauty of native wildlife. Stephan Gossling writes in his article, "Human-Environmental Relations with Tourism," “In order to market the image of a tropical paradise, the industry transforms landscapes into products and commodities." In this way, nature is separated from humans and is depicted as something to be consumed and also protected. In contrast, the locals see their environment as providing life-supporting resources. Nature is not something separate, but embedded into their everyday practices and survival. Due to these different interpretations, there are contradicting opinions on how to use, protect, and conserve the environment.
The Tanzanian government favors protecting areas which yield financial benefits, however environmental conservation is a Western concept based on the notion that many ecosystems can only be sustained in protected areas. It is this mindset that dominates the narrative surrounding Tanzania's land resources where land is meant to be preserved and only consumed in the comfort of a safari car.