African Voices

Students will learn about the conflict between the Maasai and the Tanzanian government. Students will learn about the role of the NCAA in preserving the Ngorongoro crater area.

The Masaai people in Tanzania are once again losing their land. The Ngorongoro was first established as a conservation area to benefit the Masaai in 1959. The NCAA (Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority) was created and assigned the task of conserving natural resources and protecting local interests. The high human population increase creates many demands on land and is the major catalyst tot eh human-wildlife conflicts. The factors underlying population change need to be identified. The NCAA should seek to understand the socioeconomic needs and aspirations f the local Maasai. If the Maasai did not live the kind of life they live, there wouldn't be any wildlife to conserve. The longer they maintain that kind of life, the longer the wildlife survives. But, the Maasai cannot make a living from the livestock. The cattle are decreasing in number from wildlife diseases transmitted to livestock and from lack of water. Land use conflicts have increased, as the Maasai have become more sedentary.

Standards

NYS Standards: ELA Standard #1 Language for Information and Understanding.
ELA Standard #4 Language for Social Interaction.
Social Studies Standard #3 Geography.
MST Standard #2 Information Systems.

Overview

Students take part in an active debate in which they defend their views.

Parts in the Debate:
Moderator
Judge
Animals Affected
NCAA Official
Masaai
Corporation Manager
Government Representative

Debate Question: Should the Tanzanian Government be allowed to sell part of the Ngorongoro to a hotel chain to promote tourism?

Lesson Plan:

The teacher tells class they will participate in a simulation of a real problem that exists in the Ngorongoro. The Tanzanian government has agreed to let a major corporation build their plant on the Ngorongoro. The animals of the local food web are outraged. The NCAA official is in a bad position because they are employed by the Tanzanian government, but their job is to protect the interests of the Masaai. The Masaai along with the animals don't want to lose their land. The Masaai and the animals have brought the government to court.

Divide the class into the various groups.

Allow groups 2 to 3 class periods to prepare their arguments. They may want to prepare charts, graphs, and other visual aids for the debate.

On the day of the presentation allow each group to make a brief five-minute statement. After all have been completed, a group may respond to any statement.

Discussion must be limited to the facts.

Each group should have an opportunity to defend itself. The mediator keeps track of the time. At the end of a twenty-minute discussion, each group has 5 minutes to sum up their main argument.

Judge weighs all of the arguments and makes a decision about whether the corporation will be allowed to build their hotel on the Ngorongoro.

Assessment: Teacher prepared Performance Task Assessment. Did students present valid arguments? Did students use effective visuals? Did students successfully follow the rules of debate? Student self-assessment.

Ngorongoro Animal Reports

Performance Task Assessment