Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa Finalist 2022
Dismas Partalala Ole Meitaya
Tanzania
Dismas, a Maasai from the Loliondo district, is a true grassroots conservationist – someone whose first priority is helping indigenous communities secure their rights over their lands and natural resources, define conservation from their cultural perspective, and build a durable system of land and wildlife protection on that foundation.
In his role as a programme coordinator for Ujamaa Community Resource Team, the 48-year-old self-taught conservationist has been instrumental in securing land rights for the local Hadzabe community, with 100,500 hectares of land secured by law since 2011.
When I discovered these communities needed help, I knew I had to be the one. If I do this, then I can I die knowing I did something in this world.
