Living Inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Perspective of the Maasai Community in Tanzania

The participation of local communities in benefits sharing is a prerequisite for the long-term sustainability of World Heritage Sites (WHS). However, the rhetoric surrounding this assumption in many contexts may outweigh the empirical evidence for the role of WHS in improving the wellbeing and livelihoods of communities. Drawing insights from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), a WHS in Tanzania this study examines the Maasai indigenous community's perspectives on the impact of the WHS on their livelihoods. Data from local Maasai and traditional leaders residing at the NCA were collected through semi structured interviews. While a small number of community members acknowledge the significant opportunities through tourism which have supplemented their declining pastoralist incomes, the majority of participants highlighted the burdens that arise from the area's WHS status and its associated tourism development. These include restrictions to access to land resources; undermining livelihoods; unsatisfactory involvement in decision making and in benefits sharing; threat of relocation; and negative attitudes towards conservation principles. Collectively these factors contribute to a low level of appreciation of the WHS among Maasai residents of Ngorongoro. This study indicates that community participation in decision making and in benefits sharing is critical for World Heritage Sites to be deemed successful by local communities.