"Giant Helium Find May Spell Trouble For Tanzania"

The discovery of a massive helium deposit in Tanzania this week has excited both scientists and mining experts, yet for all its potential this new cache holds risks for Dodoma. Specifically, this new deposit threatens to only further increase tensions between indigenous groups and the government; as development projects continue to infringe on ancestral lands. Tanzania’s extractive, agribusiness, and tourism sectors all face increased uncertainty going forward...

The problem for the government is that the discovery has been made in Tanzania’s Rift Valley; an area already beset with land claim issues between indigenous communities and businesses. Tanzania was already admonished by the UN in 2010 regarding the removal of pastoralists without informed consent. Indigenous groups, notably the Maasai, have been repeatedly (and often violently) evicted from ancestral lands to make way for development projects. Consequently, long-standing grievances exist among local groups, who do not feel represented by the government. [refers to EcoEnergy]