The Northern Rangelands Trust is an association of protected areas covering 42,000 km². The area originally belonged to local shepherd communities of Samuru and Maasai. Today, many of the protected areas are hosting luxury safari lodges. In the report, the Oakland Institute exposes human rights violations during the conversion process. It also documents the dispossession of indigenous and other local communities, abuse and torture, killings, disappearances, the use of private armed security forces, and intimidation, as well as arrest of members and leaders of local communities. In addition, the report makes public that millions of dollars in grants have flowed - including from the EU, U.S. agencies, and major conservation organizations.
The Rangeland Trust is not an isolated case. Again and again, there are evictions for the expansion of private and state protected areas. At its "Our Land Our Nature" conference, the non-governmental organization Survival International and other organizations joined in calling for a halt to the expansion of new protected areas. Conservation and biodiversity are best achieved when local communities engage actively and when their rights are respected.