From iPods around the world, a woman of the Mursi tribe, Southern Ethiopia:

The creation of Omo Park in 1966 forced the Mursi people and other tribes away from certain of their homeland areas, but the park has persisted mainly as a figment of cartographers’ imaginations.

In 2004, the park was taken over by the African Parks Foundation of the Netherlands, a project of billionaire Paul van Vlissingen, who acquired his fortune in liquid petroleum gas distribution and a global retail empire. A key foundation benefactor is Rob Walton, the chairman of Wal-Mart. African Parks Foundation refused to agree to a “no evictions” clause in its contracts with the Ethiopian government. They were asked to make their contracts available to tribal people so the tribes could seek legal advice, and to enter into agreements with the tribes, to safeguard the tribes’ rights and secure co-management accords. The foundation refused.

Last December, the foundation walked away from the situation.

Drought bedevils the Mursi and their neighbours. Their subsistence cultivation and cattle herding are further threatened by mechanised cotton farming, by parks, and by hunting concessions. Competition for agricultural and grazing land has exacerbated inter-tribal conflict, and the spread of automatic weapons hasn’t helped matters. Observers say “unsustainable use” and tribal conflicts remain the greatest challenges in the region. Wildlife has been decimated, other than in the “no-man’s land” between the different ethnic groups.