Also, trees used to be cut randomly in the area, provoking a response not only from elders and members of the community, but also from the village government, which assigned Morans (the male Maasai youth) to guard their territory.

This forced the community to enact by-laws, in partnership with village authorities, to protect the lake’s salt. Outside individuals and groups of people used to enter the territory to collect soda ash. The key governance structures include the Ilaigwanak (traditional male leaders) and the Morani (young men who serve as the community’s law enforcement). In this customary system, institutions are made under Maasai culture and customs. First, under customary tenure, communities in this territory who inherited their land before independence and continued to live on it have the right to access, use, control, and to some extent own land. Two distinct but interdependent and recognised laws – customary tenure of land rights and statutory land laws – govern the territory of life. Photo: Lodrick Mika, 2020 Managing the territory Designated livestock grazing area on the slopes of Oldonyo-Lengai. Maa is the native language of the Maasai people however, most Maasai speak Swahili as a national language with few educated in speaking English. The community self-identifies as Indigenous and has maintained cultural distinctiveness, traditions, and livelihoods for generations. The Lake Natron territory has a unique habitat and landscape that is supported and maintained through traditional knowledge and practices such as traditional grazing calendars.

There are ancestors’ footprints in this protected and respected area and many archaeological places such as Pinyinyi Ward where researchers from Tanzania and abroad undertake research. On the top of the mountain and waterfalls, Maasai people carry out their prayers and rituals. Maasai believe Oldonyo Lengai is the Holy Mountain of God. Oldonyo Lengai remains an active volcanic mountain in the country. Since the territory is rich with biodiversity as well as mineral resources such as soda ash, communities have to defend their territory against both salt miners and the government’s attempts to annex this territory to establish new types of protected areas.Ĭustodians: 12,000 Maasai people of Engaresero village Lake Natron’s catchment is the Maasai’s lifelineįor ages, the territory has been at the heart of the Indigenous Maasai because it has special places and trees respected for both spiritual and cultural purposes. Cultural values and Indigenous knowledge are promoted to restore and create cultural heritage sites in the area. For years and with support from Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT), EECDI has strengthened community capacity to manage, own and benefit from land and other natural resources, including wildlife. EECDI’s goal is to support integrated conservation and livelihood development through tourism initiatives and cultural restoration. Engaresero Eramatare Community Development Initiative (EECDI), a community-based organization formed by the general assembly of 12,000 people from Engaresero village, manages the territory of life. It is administratively situated in Engaresero village, Ngorongoro District, in the northern tourism circuit of Tanzania. The territory is the source of pasture and water for both livestock and wildlife throughout the years.Ĭurrently, this territory is managed and governed by both customary Maasai structures and the national and international frameworks related to natural resources of national and global importance. The Maasai people depend on the Lake’s wider catchment area for their livelihoods because it is the most reliable wetland area for the large dry landscape. Named after Lake Natron, the world’s most critical breeding site for lesser flamingos, the territory is home to diverse groups of flora and fauna and forms an important corridor, ecosystem, and landscape of two World Heritage Sites: the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Largely occupied by the Indigenous Maasai People, this spectacular territory of life is adjacent to Oldonyo-Lengai, the Mountain of God, an active volcanic mountain in the country.

Lago natron africa tanzania