________________________________________
Part One
Serengeti plains which contain dominant species acquired national park status in 1951 with extensive boundary modifications in 1959. While Maswa Game Reserve was included as part of Serengeti-Ngorongoro Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The marginalized Masaai community had to be evicted from Serengeti woodlands to allow the expansion of Serengeti National Park in 1959. United Nation Education and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included it in the list of World Heritage Site in 1981.Part one of this discussion look forward to comprehensively put on lights some important principles of State Sovereignty over Natural Resources in relation to the long protested Musoma - Loliondo to Arusha High Way.
We should all put in our minds that, the construction of Musoma to Arusha High way was a government plan since 1980. President Mwalimu Nyerere by then failed to implement the plan due to external pressure. The plan was abolished by Wold Bank 20 years ago after basing on recommendation of an enviromental impact assesment carried out by the same organ- WB influenced world radical-enviromentalist for their own interests. For many years, modern colonialists have been bussy trying to amalgamate conservation of natural resources and human development objectives.In this way, it is easy to question the sovereignity of Tanzania over its natural resources.
When Former Prime Minister Lowassa and President Kikwete got into pawer in 2005, the Musoma-via Loliondo to Arusha road construction plan was revisited and reemphasized with alot of confidence and patriotism. The need of this road is to link Serengeti- and Loliondo-Districts to the National grid of major roads. The proposed road is suggested in the Governments 10 years Transport Sector Improvement Program (TSIP). In 2010 the Government of Tanzania approved the so called Serengeti High way road plan to construct a €300 million two lane highway from Musoma via Mugumu, Loliondo, Mtoambu to Arusha.The construction of this road is expected to commence in 2012.
As usual, in 2010 the goverment plan to construct a link road for its people received storm protest from regional and international bodies, govermental and non governmental institutions and individuals from across the world. Sounds outrageous because all of these bodies and individual have no legal status to question the internal affairs of any independent state including Tanzania. Suprisingly, some of these pro-wildlife organizations such as Frankfurt Zoological Society African Wildlife Foundation have been for many years working in Tanzania.The goverment of Tanzania embraced some of these wildlife organizations by giving them red capet treatment , but today they are turning against Tanzania’s development programs for its people.In this regard, it obvious that Tanzania is still colonized in the area of natural resources.
Some of these protestants of human develoment and the so called enviromentalists went ahead by stating that Serengeti National Park is under UNESCO therefore Tanzania can do nothing on it.This astonished me and forced me to pick up a pen and ready to tranform my grievances into this public reading material.
Distingushed readers and humble citizens of Tanzania let me bofore all in this Part one, enrich your minds with few aspects of world heritages versus the sovereignity of states.Cultural heritage is the combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; these are monuments: architectural works, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings . Examples in Tanzania we have among others the Stone Town, Ruins of Kilwa and Songo Mnara. Natural heritage has been defined as natural features, geological formations and natural sites consisting of physical and biological formations, which are of outstanding universal value from the scientific point of view. Examples of natural heritage sites in Tanzania are Kilimanjaro National parks, Selou Game Reserve,Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation area (NCA).
Sovereignty means each state has exclusive jurisdiction within it is territory and to adopt laws and enforce them, adminster the territory and judge dispute there in. The sovereignty rights of states include rights of states to have exclusive rights over their resources. Relevant resolutions were firstly adopted by United Nations General Assembly in the years 1950's as initial stages of recognizing this concept as applied to peoples and nations. United Nations recognized this principle as basis for self determination. As the result, United Nation adopted resolution 1803 (XVII) in 1962 that gave the principle momentum under international law in the decolonization process. The General Assembly agreed that;
“The right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State concerned."
This remarkable UN resolution in this field continued to draw attentions in UN assemblies. For instance, in 1966 this principle of state sovereignty over natural resources was entrenched in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) of 1966. Furthermore from 1960’s United Nations adopted about 100 resolutions and declarations emphasizing on this principle. For instance, principle 21 of Stockholm Declaration of 1972 insists that;
‘States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.’
Article 4 of UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972 insists ; “the duty of environmental protection and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage situated on any territory, belongs primarily to that State. It will do all it can to protect its own resources and, where appropriate (this should be clear) with any international assistance and co-operation, which it may be able to obtain.
On the other hand , States are required to adhere to all requirement and provisions of the convention. The UNESCO Convention basis on the recognition that parts of World Heritage of various nations are of outstanding Universal interest and need to be preserved as part of the world heritage of mankind as whole.
In 1972 United Nation Conference on human and environment came up with the declaration commonly called Stockholm Declaration with 26 principles on international environmental law. The link between human being and environmental protection is clearly established by principles 1,16 and 21 of the Stockholm Declaration provide a freedom of states to freely use their resources without any environmental damage and without infringing any human basic rights. Both Rio de Janeiro and Stockholm declarations advocate for permanent sovereignty over natural resources
The UNESCO convention when implemented it infringes some of rights of over natural resources.When a part of any state is included in the list of world heritage, then that part becomes a heritage of all nations regulated by local legislation and international conventions. For in stance in Tanzania we have world heritage sites like Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). Recently in 2009, UNESCO threatens to unlist NCA from the listed World Natural Heritage. UNESCO declared that if people’s activities in Ngorongoro won’t be stopped, Ngorongoro Crater would no longer be classified as World Heritage site. Responding to UNESCO, by then Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ezekiel Maige surprisingly said,
"We have already directed the Ngorongoro Authority to conduct census for both human population and livestock in the areas so that we can take appropriate measures," .
This implies that UNESCO Conventions contradicts with the principle of sovereignty over natural resources.Subsequently, UNESCO’s principles are now quoted and used by dubious and unknown entinties and ravenous individuals to mercilessly protest the contruction of Musoma to Arusha via Loliondo high way. But Article 9 of the Constitution of Tanzania states;
“ as a matter of policy that national resources shall be used for the development of people and in particular used for the eradication of poverty, ignorance and diseases while making sure that human dignity is preserved and upheld in accordance with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
Moreover, the Constitution of Tanzania stipulates that the resources of the nation should be managed and used towards the eradication of poverty, ignorance and disease for all people, without regard to their colour, age, religion, tribe or station in life.Therefore, it is unconstitutional to invest development programs, including infrastructure progams in other parts of the country in isolation of other parts of the country. Some other grounds given by road protestants are inadmisible, ilogical, inhuman, unconstitutional driven by individual interests sponsored by modern coloniasm over natural resources.
Other countries have gone even to the extent of introducing Serengeti day and celebrate it in their territories.This year Serengeti day was celebrated in different parts of the world but Tanzania which posses Serengeti was in holiday.For instance, Kenya celebrated the world serengeti day at Uhuru park March 2011 with the theme stop the construction of the so called serengeti high way.Dear readers, is this not interference of state’s internal affairs?
If global governance over national resources becomes reality, there will be no place for indigenous to hide. This is similar to what happen in Wyoming in September 1995 over Yellowstone Park when World Heritage Committee members from Europe and Asia appeared in Wyoming to help radical environmentalist fight the environmentally friendly mining company, they claimed and won the right to censure human activity within the entire ecosystem. In other words, "systems thinking" rather than scientific facts. The international assistance has been used a weapon to weaken freedom over natural resources.For many years now Tanzania is undergoing financial threats if it proceed with the plan of constructing Musoma to Arusha High way.Article 26 of UNESCO Convention (supra) stipulates that.
“The World Heritage Committee and the recipient State shall define in the agreement they conclude the conditions in which a programme or project for which international assistance under the terms of this Convention is provided, ….., in observance of the conditions laid down by the agreement.”
What would be in the agreement? No body knows. This is deviation from national sovereignty to global governance. It is from this system of international cooperation as elaborated by Article 7 of UNESCO Convention (supra) that state sovereignty can be in jeopardy. These kind of assistance comes with strong conditions that jeopardizes state sovereignty over natural resources
In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated, independent and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that conservation programs are compatible with the need to develope and improve the life of their population. I call up all developed nations and international organazations to stop using their financial mighty to undermine the soveregnity of Tanzania over its natural resources.
By Onesmo Olengurumwa
Vice President Ngorongoro Elites Association NDUSA-ndusa@gmail.com
________________________________________
Part One
Serengeti plains which contain dominant species acquired national park status in 1951 with extensive boundary modifications in 1959. While Maswa Game Reserve was included as part of Serengeti-Ngorongoro Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The marginalized Masaai community had to be evicted from Serengeti woodlands to allow the expansion of Serengeti National Park in 1959. United Nation Education and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included it in the list of World Heritage Site in 1981.Part one of this discussion look forward to comprehensively put on lights some important principles of State Sovereignty over Natural Resources in relation to the long protested Musoma - Loliondo to Arusha High Way.
We should all put in our minds that, the construction of Musoma to Arusha High way was a government plan since 1980. President Mwalimu Nyerere by then failed to implement the plan due to external pressure. The plan was abolished by Wold Bank 20 years ago after basing on recommendation of an enviromental impact assesment carried out by the same organ- WB influenced world radical-enviromentalist for their own interests. For many years, modern colonialists have been bussy trying to amalgamate conservation of natural resources and human development objectives.In this way, it is easy to question the sovereignity of Tanzania over its natural resources.
When Former Prime Minister Lowassa and President Kikwete got into pawer in 2005, the Musoma-via Loliondo to Arusha road construction plan was revisited and reemphasized with alot of confidence and patriotism. The need of this road is to link Serengeti- and Loliondo-Districts to the National grid of major roads. The proposed road is suggested in the Governments 10 years Transport Sector Improvement Program (TSIP). In 2010 the Government of Tanzania approved the so called Serengeti High way road plan to construct a €300 million two lane highway from Musoma via Mugumu, Loliondo, Mtoambu to Arusha.The construction of this road is expected to commence in 2012.
As usual, in 2010 the goverment plan to construct a link road for its people received storm protest from regional and international bodies, govermental and non governmental institutions and individuals from across the world. Sounds outrageous because all of these bodies and individual have no legal status to question the internal affairs of any independent state including Tanzania. Suprisingly, some of these pro-wildlife organizations such as Frankfurt Zoological Society African Wildlife Foundation have been for many years working in Tanzania.The goverment of Tanzania embraced some of these wildlife organizations by giving them red capet treatment , but today they are turning against Tanzania’s development programs for its people.In this regard, it obvious that Tanzania is still colonized in the area of natural resources.
Some of these protestants of human develoment and the so called enviromentalists went ahead by stating that Serengeti National Park is under UNESCO therefore Tanzania can do nothing on it.This astonished me and forced me to pick up a pen and ready to tranform my grievances into this public reading material.
Distingushed readers and humble citizens of Tanzania let me bofore all in this Part one, enrich your minds with few aspects of world heritages versus the sovereignity of states.Cultural heritage is the combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science; these are monuments: architectural works, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings . Examples in Tanzania we have among others the Stone Town, Ruins of Kilwa and Songo Mnara. Natural heritage has been defined as natural features, geological formations and natural sites consisting of physical and biological formations, which are of outstanding universal value from the scientific point of view. Examples of natural heritage sites in Tanzania are Kilimanjaro National parks, Selou Game Reserve,Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation area (NCA).
Sovereignty means each state has exclusive jurisdiction within it is territory and to adopt laws and enforce them, adminster the territory and judge dispute there in. The sovereignty rights of states include rights of states to have exclusive rights over their resources. Relevant resolutions were firstly adopted by United Nations General Assembly in the years 1950's as initial stages of recognizing this concept as applied to peoples and nations. United Nations recognized this principle as basis for self determination. As the result, United Nation adopted resolution 1803 (XVII) in 1962 that gave the principle momentum under international law in the decolonization process. The General Assembly agreed that;
“The right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and of the well-being of the people of the State concerned."
This remarkable UN resolution in this field continued to draw attentions in UN assemblies. For instance, in 1966 this principle of state sovereignty over natural resources was entrenched in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) of 1966. Furthermore from 1960’s United Nations adopted about 100 resolutions and declarations emphasizing on this principle. For instance, principle 21 of Stockholm Declaration of 1972 insists that;
‘States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.’
Article 4 of UNESCO World Heritage Convention of 1972 insists ; “the duty of environmental protection and transmission to future generations of the cultural and natural heritage situated on any territory, belongs primarily to that State. It will do all it can to protect its own resources and, where appropriate (this should be clear) with any international assistance and co-operation, which it may be able to obtain.
On the other hand , States are required to adhere to all requirement and provisions of the convention. The UNESCO Convention basis on the recognition that parts of World Heritage of various nations are of outstanding Universal interest and need to be preserved as part of the world heritage of mankind as whole.
In 1972 United Nation Conference on human and environment came up with the declaration commonly called Stockholm Declaration with 26 principles on international environmental law. The link between human being and environmental protection is clearly established by principles 1,16 and 21 of the Stockholm Declaration provide a freedom of states to freely use their resources without any environmental damage and without infringing any human basic rights. Both Rio de Janeiro and Stockholm declarations advocate for permanent sovereignty over natural resources
The UNESCO convention when implemented it infringes some of rights of over natural resources.When a part of any state is included in the list of world heritage, then that part becomes a heritage of all nations regulated by local legislation and international conventions. For in stance in Tanzania we have world heritage sites like Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). Recently in 2009, UNESCO threatens to unlist NCA from the listed World Natural Heritage. UNESCO declared that if people’s activities in Ngorongoro won’t be stopped, Ngorongoro Crater would no longer be classified as World Heritage site. Responding to UNESCO, by then Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ezekiel Maige surprisingly said,
"We have already directed the Ngorongoro Authority to conduct census for both human population and livestock in the areas so that we can take appropriate measures," .
This implies that UNESCO Conventions contradicts with the principle of sovereignty over natural resources.Subsequently, UNESCO’s principles are now quoted and used by dubious and unknown entinties and ravenous individuals to mercilessly protest the contruction of Musoma to Arusha via Loliondo high way. But Article 9 of the Constitution of Tanzania states;
“ as a matter of policy that national resources shall be used for the development of people and in particular used for the eradication of poverty, ignorance and diseases while making sure that human dignity is preserved and upheld in accordance with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
Moreover, the Constitution of Tanzania stipulates that the resources of the nation should be managed and used towards the eradication of poverty, ignorance and disease for all people, without regard to their colour, age, religion, tribe or station in life.Therefore, it is unconstitutional to invest development programs, including infrastructure progams in other parts of the country in isolation of other parts of the country. Some other grounds given by road protestants are inadmisible, ilogical, inhuman, unconstitutional driven by individual interests sponsored by modern coloniasm over natural resources.
Other countries have gone even to the extent of introducing Serengeti day and celebrate it in their territories.This year Serengeti day was celebrated in different parts of the world but Tanzania which posses Serengeti was in holiday.For instance, Kenya celebrated the world serengeti day at Uhuru park March 2011 with the theme stop the construction of the so called serengeti high way.Dear readers, is this not interference of state’s internal affairs?
If global governance over national resources becomes reality, there will be no place for indigenous to hide. This is similar to what happen in Wyoming in September 1995 over Yellowstone Park when World Heritage Committee members from Europe and Asia appeared in Wyoming to help radical environmentalist fight the environmentally friendly mining company, they claimed and won the right to censure human activity within the entire ecosystem. In other words, "systems thinking" rather than scientific facts. The international assistance has been used a weapon to weaken freedom over natural resources.For many years now Tanzania is undergoing financial threats if it proceed with the plan of constructing Musoma to Arusha High way.Article 26 of UNESCO Convention (supra) stipulates that.
“The World Heritage Committee and the recipient State shall define in the agreement they conclude the conditions in which a programme or project for which international assistance under the terms of this Convention is provided, ….., in observance of the conditions laid down by the agreement.”
What would be in the agreement? No body knows. This is deviation from national sovereignty to global governance. It is from this system of international cooperation as elaborated by Article 7 of UNESCO Convention (supra) that state sovereignty can be in jeopardy. These kind of assistance comes with strong conditions that jeopardizes state sovereignty over natural resources
In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated, independent and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that conservation programs are compatible with the need to develope and improve the life of their population. I call up all developed nations and international organazations to stop using their financial mighty to undermine the soveregnity of Tanzania over its natural resources.
By Onesmo Olengurumwa
Vice President Ngorongoro Elites Association NDUSA-ndusa@gmail.com
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