CALL FOR SUPPORT: To Build or not To Build - The Serengeti Highway saga

[Mtazamaji]

Uchambuzi yaninifu wa huu mradi ukoje?

1.Ni abiria wangapi kwa sasa wanaosafiri kati ya Musoma na Arusha
2.KWa sasa safari kati ya usoma na Arusha ni a=masaa mangapi na Ujenzi wa barabara ya rami utapunguza masaa mangapi ?
3.Kuna faida zozozte zitafaidisha wanyama na wakazai wa barabara inakopita au ni kutufaidisha wapita njia.
4.


Binafsi sikubalini na huo mradi naona ni maamuzi ya kisiasa zaidi.
Kwanza neno HIFADHI lina maana yake. kama eneo limeshatajwa ni hifadhi linatakiwa kuwa na limited man made develelopment. kama ni kufanya develelopment zinatakiwa kuwa za kumantain NATURE ya eneo husika.

 

[Tai Ngwilizi]

hizo petition ilitakiwa zitoke kwetu, yaani watu wengine wanaona uharibifu wa serikali yetu kuliko hata sisi wenyewe! sijui kwa nini hatuoni petitions za kusimamisha Barrick company kufanya wizi wa madini Bulyanhulu etc

 

[Kamaka]

TANZANIA: DAR IS CONSTRUCTING THE CONTROVERTSIAL ROAD NETWORK THROUGH SERENGETI GAME PARK DESPITE STRONG OPPOSITION FROM ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONSEVATIONISTS.

REPORTS emerging from the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, say environmentalists and conservationists are up in arms against the construction of the 480 kilometer highway across the world famous wildlife sanctuary, the Serengeti National Game Park. The road, which is to be tarmac ked at an estimated cost of USD 480 million, is to link the country’s Northern Town of Arusha in Tanzania and the famous Maasai Game Reserve in Kenya.
The announcement about this multimillion dollar road network project was announced last week by the Regional Commissioner for Arusha, Isidori Shirima. This announcement now bring to an end a three – year strong protest by the green activists, including the Tanzania National Parks Authority {TANAPA}, they termed “interference with the wildebeest annual migration route. Which in recent years has gained world-wide instant fame?
According to the regional commissioner, the new highway will in certain season of the year see the wildebeest herds march across in tens of thousands attracting more tourists into the country. Of the project total cost, USD 260 million will cover the Arusha-Serengeti section and USD million the Serengeti-Musoma segment.
Deusdedit Kakoko,the Arusha based regional manager of the Tanzania Road Agency said the construction work for the project will commence in 2012 while feasibility studies are to be completed by the end of this year. ”We will mobilize resources and float tenders for consultants in January,”said Kakoko.
When asked why they had accepted the routing they were once vehemently opposed to, the officials was hesitant to speak.”This issue is no longer in our corridors.”The ball is now in the court of Tanroads,” Tanapa’s public relations manager Pascal Shelutete said on phone. Before hanging up.
An environmentalist law lecturer Makumira University College in Arusha Elizabeth Laltalka said the project would be in line with sustainable development. “Serengeti will remain wild and with the new road, Tanzanians will no longer have to travel through border into Kenya,” said Laltalka.
Serengeti National Game Park, which shares anecosyst6em with the Kenya’s famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve, hosts the spectacular annual wildebeest migration. In 2006, a jury of experts declared the annual wildebeest migration across the Mara River from Tanzania into Kenya one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World.
Ends.

 

[bona]

katika kila hizi issue tungepata mtu wa kutupa ENVIRONMENT ASSESMENT REPORT kwa project kama izi, maana ku jugde kua ina madhara au la lazima iyo report iweke wazi badala ya kila mtu kutoa quote ya maneno flan aliyoyadownload kwa net! nilipinga initially lakini nikagundua ckufanya uchambuzi sahihi kwanza ni kupata iyo pepa iliyoandaliwa kwanza

 

[ngoshwe]

katika kila hizi issue tungepata mtu wa kutupa ENVIRONMENT ASSESMENT REPORT kwa project kama izi, maana ku jugde kua ina madhara au la lazima iyo report iweke wazi badala ya kila mtu kutoa quote ya maneno flan aliyoyadownload kwa net! nilipinga initially lakini nikagundua ckufanya uchambuzi sahihi kwanza ni kupata iyo pepa iliyoandaliwa kwanza

CONSTRUCTION of the Arusha-Musoma highway is now set to start in 2012.

Officials here say that the controversy surrounding the project has been resolved.

The Arusha Regional Commissioner, Mr Isidori Shirima, has said that government leaders in Arusha and Mara regions and District Commissioners for Monduli, Ngorongoro and Serengeti met recently with Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) officials to deal with the matter.

The meeting ironed out the controversies that have been hindering the execution of the proposed project.

"The opposition mainly came from pressure groups and green activists who were concerned about the possible negative environment impact that the road might cause, but the latest feasibility studies have taken into consideration such matters. "Even TANAPA who were also opposed to the project have so far conceded," said Regional Commissioner Shirima.

According to Mr Shirima, it took the president, Mr Jakaya Kikwete, to intervene, ordering that the project was of high economic importance to the nation and specifically the four districts of Monduli, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Musoma Rural, through which the highway is to traverse.

The Monduli District Commissioner, Mr Jowika Wilson Kasunga, lauded the president's intervention saying that development in the area depended on the proposed Arusha-Musoma road which should have already been underway were it not for some opposing forces with 'personal interests!'

The officials were speaking during the Arusha Regional Road Board meeting today.

The Regional Manager for Tanzania Roads Agency, Mr Desdatus Kakoko, said the feasibility study for the project, including the total distance to be covered by the road, will be completed by December this year.

"From January we intend to start raising funds for the project as well as floating tenders for consultants but the roadworks should be underway by early 2012," said Mr Kakoko.

He added that the corridor will run from Mto-wa-Mbu, to Engaruka on to Lake Natron shores, Loliondo, Serengeti and finally Musoma.

It is the Kleins Corner junction of Serengeti National Park which worried TANAPA because the area is an animal passage mostly favoured by elephants and once the road cuts through the Jumbos lives would be placed in danger due to passing trucks and buses.

Green activists were also not sure if it was a good idea to have heavy construction works taking place in wildlife reserved areas. They have also been concerned with heavy traffic passing through Serengeti and parts of Ngorongoro wilderness.

Daily News | Arusha-Musoma road work take off in 2012

 

[mfianchi]

Ah asavali waijenge hiyo barabara kwani hao Wanyama hawatusaidii lolote sisi walavumbi,sana sana hela itokanayo na hao wanyama inaenda kwa wazungu na wabaka uchumi wao waliopo hapa Tanzania

 

[BAK]

Migrating to a halt in Serengeti?

The Tanzanian government is preparing to build a major road through the northern part of the park: through a designated wilderness area, through the migration route. Photo/FILE
By NY TIMES

Posted Monday, June 28 2010 at 00:00



Imagine. You are lying in the grass in the east African savannah, watching wildebeest fording a shallow river.

You can hear the funny grunting noises they make, and as they pass by, you can feel the impact of their hooves on the ground and smell their rich animal smell. You see their kicking heels, their beautiful sleek bodies.

Then you look up, and you realise that the herd stretches as far as you can see, that the plain is dark with wildebeest.


If you were to wait for them all to pass, you would be there for days.

The sight is magnificent, primal and profoundly moving. It is the wildebeest migration.

Every year, more than a million wildebeest, along with hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles, move through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem of Tanzania and Kenya, following the rains. In the course of a year, an individual wildebeest may cover as much as 2,100 kilometres.

(Which is further than the distance between New York and New Orleans.) It is the last great migration on Earth.


But for how much longer? A large part of the migration takes place within the vast Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and there are reports that the Tanzanian government is preparing to build a major road through the northern part of the park: through a designated wilderness area, through the migration route.


Roads are catastrophic for wildlife. The experiment has been done again and again all over the world: we know. Among the problems: roads allow the easy spread of invasive plant species, as car tires often carry their seeds. Roads also allow the rapid spread of animal diseases, and lead to an increase in poaching, building and other human activities.


But by far the biggest problem is that roads fragment habitats and disrupt animal movements.

Many animals are reluctant to cross roads, even those with little traffic. And when there is a lot of traffic, the lives of people and animals are both at risk.

The usual solution is to fence the road to protect the cars.

Doing this here would likely end the migration, cause the collapse of the wildebeest population — and destroy the Serengeti as we know it.

The reason is that the lands to the north of the proposed road remain wet when the lands to the south have become dry.

Unable to reach the water, tens of thousands of animals would die of hunger and thirst; many would become tangled in the fence.


Building the road with animal tunnels or overpasses, as has been done in Canada and other countries, would be expensive and impractical; moreover, it probably would not work, as wildebeest are sensitive to disturbance.

They already avoid areas frequented by poachers, and are alarmed by cars.

And if the migration stopped, the Serengeti would cease to be the Serengeti, for the wildebeest define the ecosystem and drive its dynamics.


The migration is the reason the wildebeest are so numerous: it allows them to transcend the limitations imposed by local supplies of food, water and predators.

And in their travels, the animals spread nutrients throughout the system.

They fertilise plants with their urine and dung, and trample the soil.

By doing so, they help to maintain a diverse array of plants, insects and birds, and are themselves food for large numbers of lions and hyenas.

Wildebeest also help to maintain large numbers of humans.

Tourism accounts for eight per cent of gross domestic product in Tanzania, and more than 600,000 jobs.

If the migration stopped, tourism would likely decline. After all, there would be much less to see.


Good roads are, of course, an important part of economic development.

They connect isolated communities, and allow for the trucking of commodities between inland areas and port cities.

One of the challenges of conservation is balancing the needs of humans today while protecting the resources of tomorrow.

Rejected

But the peculiar thing about this road is that it is not a case of animals versus people.

There is an alternative — a road to the south of the park that would connect five times more people, and cost less to build.


It would also be easier, since the landscape there is flatter; and it would not affect the animal migrations.

And the northern road has been vigorously rejected on environmental grounds before.

Even more peculiar: up to now, the government of Tanzania has had an outstanding record of conservation.


Around a quarter of the country’s area is managed with a view to preserving wildlife, and at 50,000 square kilometres (almost 20,000 square miles) the Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected area in Africa.

Tanzania boasts seven Unesco World Heritage Sites, of which four are nature reserves — including the Serengeti National Park.


Moreover, the president of Tanzania, Dr Jakaya Kikwete, is known for his interest in nature.

When six black rhinos arrived in the Serengeti in May — they were flown in from South Africa as part of a rhino relocation programme — the president himself was there to meet them, and he has often spoken of the importance of the parks to Tanzania.


Indeed, he sometimes quotes Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere:

“The survival of our wildlife is a matter of grave concern to all of us in Africa. These wild creatures amid the wild places they inhabit are not only important as a resource of wonder and inspiration but are an integral part of our natural resources and our future livelihood and wellbeing. In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children’s grandchildren will be able to enjoy this rich and precious heritage.”


It is not clear why the Serengeti road is being considered: I was unable to reach anyone in the Tanzanian government who would comment.

But what is clear is that one of the most marvelous and awe-inspiring sights on the planet might soon vanish, killed by a road.

 

[LUSAJO L.M.]

[as received]

Hi All,

Hope you are well. Firstly, you are receiving this email because either you expressed interest to be a part of a Tanzanian-based group to stop the construction of the Serengeti Highway or because I consider you to be of value to part of this team.

Firstly a little bit about why I have felt it necessary to establish this group and why I think it is an important cause to be a part of, particularly as a Tanzanian.

As most of you aware, during the tabling of the Budget in parliament, an international environmental controversy erupted with the announcement that Tanzania had earmarked funds and would pursue the building of highway to connect the Eastern Regions to the Lake Zones, cutting through a protected wilderness area of the Serengeti National Park. The apparent reason for pursuing the project which has been strongly touted by the government is that the project must be done as it is based on a campaign promise made by Kikwete when during his first run. The road cuts bisects the famed wildebeest migration route.

There is a report by Tanzanian scientists made in 2005 for the 10-year transport management plan highlighting the sensitivity of the area.

The largest advocate against this has been The Frankfurt Zoological Society which have prepared an extensive report highlighting the risks and threat to the ecological integrity. Furthermore, and importantly, they have developed a plan for an ALTERNATIVE route that cuts through the south of the Serengeti and largely limits the amount of degradation to Serengeti.

The Minister of Natural Resources has been very belligerent with his response to the dangers of the project saying people shouldn't talk about what they don't know and understand and the government has made sure that their project would not threaten the area and basically that the project is going to go ahead. This is unconvincing because the government hasn't disclosed any of this apparent information and they are supposedly still conducting their feasibility study.

Since the recent Government announcement of the project, there has been a lot of outrage, backlash and activism against the project, specifically by the Frankfurt Zoological society and a group established at http://savetheserengeti.org online and on Facebook.

The problem with this is that the majority of the petitioning and vocal discontent has come from outside the country, from western activist groups and the rest. The limited local opposition has been mainly a select "young middle class", mainly online and on social networks, a group that really isn't Kikwete's core constituency.

Additionally, as much great work the Stop the Serengeti Highway FB group has done, a lot of the rhetoric and comments coming from the conversations being conducted are frightening.

True, this has become a global issue, but when normal people around the world come together for a cause that in the big picture they seem to get but don't really understand specificially, particularly the daily existences and real lives and ideals on the ground, the conversations tend to become based in misdirected support and at worst, overtly patronizing and discriminating. International support is great, but very often it is counter-productive and perpetuates unequal power relationships. We must localize the issue and take responsibility as Tanzanians.

I feel it is necessary for any kind tangible and practical shift in the government's plans, the opposition has to be local and large scale. There are many reasons why I believe this has been limited, but I think mainly because of limited media coverage, especially to relevant audiences, and dispersion of relevant info. I think primarily it is necessary to inform people about the issue and contextualize the debate to be relevant to them. This can be through actual accounts of people who live in the region, an exposé on the economic, environmental and social loss relevant to people's livelihoods, awareness events and benefits, grass root education.

Eventually, I hope this leads to mass mobilization of people against the proposed project and a demonstration of sorts. I think this is important to create a culture of dissent and accountability both for citizens and the government.

The question now, is what to do from here. That is the purpose of this group. To begin formalizing a plan of action and work towards advocacy and widespread support for the cause. Some of you have expressed their readiness to write pieces, others have mentioned that they have contacts to publishers, there is interest for creating sensitization through music, NGO's, Radio, etc. The hope is to use this forum to bring these people together and make these ideas in a reality for tangible change. Maybe this is naive, but I aim to eventually culminate in at least a 50,000 strong march for the cause.

If you are behind the cause, and would like be a part of this process, please reply to this email and I will invite you to the Google Group (if you haven't been so already) so as to begin the discussion amongst ourselves to get this movement going. Additionally, you can join by visiting Save serengeti tz | Google Groups

I believe independence and self-determination are not just words and it is up to us to take responsibility for them and not let things simply happen to us.

To a growing group of comrades for change!

Best Regards,

Hafiz Juma

 

[Rafikikabisa]

Mkuu

Nchi kama south Africa zina lami katika mbuga za wanyama na watalii wanapita wakati wote bila vikwazo, hila tu zina ulinzi nafikiri hata watanzania katika kukuza utalii lazima wahakikishe wanapiga lami mbuga zote.

 

[Wacha1]

Serengeti will save itself.

 

[MchunguZI]

Mkuu

Nchi kama south Africa zina lami katika mbuga za wanyama na watalii wanapita wakati wote bila vikwazo, hila tu zina ulinzi nafikiri hata watanzania katika kukuza utalii lazima wahakikishe wanapiga lami mbuga zote.

Uko sahihi!
Nimewahi kusema juu ya hili kwamba inabidi kweli tuwe waangalifu kutenganisha theories za darasani na matumizi ya hizo theories.

Kwa kuwa darasa lilisema hili na lile ni balaa kwa ikolojia ya sehemu fulani basi linachukuliwa kama sara!

Mahathir Bin Mohamad aliwahi kusema kwamba hakuna mtu atakayemfundisha kutumia misitu ya Indonesia inapofikia maamuzi yanayowapa ahueni ya maisha watu wa nchi yake.

Kwa hili sijui kama tunahitaji kufundishwa juu ya huo mwiko wa wanyama kuvuka rami. Kuna wakati ikolojia lazima itolewe sadaka ili watu waendelee.

 

[Kiranga]

BY WOLFGANG H. THOME, ETN | JUL 27, 2010
(eTN) - Information unearthed during the week is adding to the disquiet in conservation circles, as unsavory connections are now beginning to emerge of the "god fathers" of the hugely controversial Serengeti highway project, big business backers, and the political elite in the country.

Tanzania has, in past years, climbed into the top of the African gold producers, now ranking a startling third already on the continent, and more concessions are waiting to be exploited. Several of those are in an area between the Serengeti and Lake Victoria, and the endpoint of the new highway at Musoma is intriguingly located in the exact same neighborhood area, where such mining concessions owners are waiting to go active.

Enroute to Musoma, the planned road is taking a right turn at Mto wa Mbu, leading along the escarpment, passing Mt. Ol Donyo Lengai, a presently active volcano, and then passing an area of another mining concession for soda ash, which India’s Tata Corporation wishes to exploit and which also met stiff resistance from conservationists and the tourism sector. Lake Natron is the only breeding ground for the East African flamingos, which come there annually to make nests of mud along the lake shores as few predators are able to withstand the hot and humid climate.

Proponents of the project, in large part the same lot as the proponents of the highway project through the Serengeti, point to the soda ash plant across the border in Kenya, which was established decades ago and where breeding of flamingos, thought to have existed until the plant was established, is now all but absent due to the disturbances caused by the extraction of the mineral, the processing and the shipping, and the establishment of a sizeably human population needed to run the operation there.

Planning for a major highway and bringing for the first time a direct road connection to two hitherto almost inaccessible areas, is bound to raise the speculation of background connections and will raise the stakes for the tourism and conservation fraternities in both Kenya and Tanzania. Big mining concerns are not exactly known to be using environmentally-friendly methods when it comes to extracting minerals and in particular gold from the African continent but are equally used to run roughshod over environmental concerns.

As a fitting example, the Niger delta in Nigeria is now one of the most polluted waterscapes and shorelines in the entire world, since for decades now the oil companies and government have stood by, apart from showing some pretence of mitigation and spill prevention, and let millions of spilled barrels of oil devastate entire stretches of these formerly rich, diverse but fragile ecosystems, now of course on their bio deathbed.

Going by recent public comments made by "experts," i.e., paid mouthpieces of BP, about the current Gulf of Mexico oil spill, who are claiming that within a few years there would be no side effect left, they are in total disregard of the massive scale of shore pollution already seen, the complex issue of crude oil still deep underwater, and the still ongoing problems of the decades old Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. Yet, we will surely also hear from equally unprincipled mouthpieces for the mining companies holding concessions in those areas, that neither the road, the extraction of soda ash, the extraction of other minerals and gold, nor the processing of gold – considered a highly toxic process – will do any harm to the Tanzanian environment nor displace the animals in the Serengeti.

Many of these issues are swept under the carpet right now, this being an election year in Tanzania, and with easy funding beckoning on the horizon for those singing and dancing to the tune of big business, a re-election campaign surely looks almost certain to succeed when funded and "oiled" by such windfalls. Elections are slated for October 31 of this year, and while parliament was announced dissolved by the president, the official notice is only due for publication by August 1, then providing for a three-month election campaign. But how about telling people the truth during that campaign about this project and other controversial proposals across Tanzania?

An environmental impact study for the hugely controversial highway routing must by law be carried out in Tanzania before a decision about it can be made, notwithstanding the fact that the same project was already shot down in flames by an EIA report some 14 years ago. Maybe the new EIA will do the same, but also maybe it will yield to the pressures of those who think that exploitation of every last inch of the Earth in the name of progress and prosperity justifies that we are destroying our environment faster than ever before.

The Serengeti is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but in the grand scheme of big money and big business, this status is but a little nuisance, an obstacle to be elbowed aside so that billions can be made by a few generations.

The extinction of the North American bison herds comes to mind, as I close, and I am just wondering if the great herds of wildebeest and zebras will not long from now be condemned to near extinction, too. But what the heck, as long as the ministers can get re-elected and keep their snouts in the feeding trough, that is after all the only thing which matters... or is it?

 

[bona]

this is another interesting revelation to think about, i was veery much suprised to hear government officials holding by hooks and crooks the must bbe bullt idea of the road, now i am starting to get picture, they claim they can not cancel their election promises to peoples that will be benefiting from the proposed road, the thing to ponder is how many promises did they make but they didnt keep, how come over the sudden this become as the most important of them all!

 

[Kiranga]

this is another interesting revelation to think about, i was veery much suprised to hear government officials holding by hooks and crooks the must bbe bullt idea of the road, now i am starting to get picture, they claim they can not cancel their election promises to peoples that will be benefiting from the proposed road, the thing to ponder is how many promises did they make but they didnt keep, how come over the sudden this become as the most important of them all!

An even more interesting question is, why make election promises before studies are done to asses viability ?

Huwezi kusema " ni lazima nimchinje mtoto, kwa sababu nilitoa election promise kwamba nitachinja mtoto" utaonekana wewe ni chinja chinja unayetaka kuhalalisha uchinja chinja kwa kutumia mgongo wa election promise.

 

[Kituko]

An even more interesting question is, why make election promises before studies are done to asses viability ?

Huwezi kusema " ni lazima nimchinje mtoto, kwa sababu nilitoa election promise kwamba nitachinja mtoto" utaonekana wewe ni chinja chinja unayetaka kuhalalisha uchinja chinja kwa kutumia mgongo wa election promise.

KWA MAANA HIYO MARADONA HASINGEVUA NGUO KAMA WANGECHUKUA KOMBE? ANYWAY ITS A JOKE,
LAKINI UKWELI UPO PALEPALE, HII NCHI KUNA WATU WAMESHAITOLEA MACHO NA WANATAKA JUU CHINI BAADA YA MIAKA ISHIRINI KUWA HAKUNA KITU KILICHOBAKI, HILO ENEO LA SERENGETI MPAKA MANYARA NI POTENTIAL SANA, UPANDE HUO WA SERENGETI OBVIOUS KUNA GOLD NYINGI NA NI MWENDELEZO ULEULE WA LAKE VICTORIA GREEN STONE BELT, NA UKIJA HUKU UPANDE WA MANYARA NI SERIES ILEILE YA MERELANI NAMAANISHA GEMSTONE

HIYO BARABARA SIDHANI NI FEDHA ZA SERIKALI NI FEDHA ZA HAO JAMAA WALIOKUWA INTEREST NA MADINI

HII NCHI INAHITAJI UKOMBOZI WA KWELI , MAANA BADO TUNATAWALIWA NA CCM NA vIGOGO WAO WA UMAFIA (RA NA WENZIE)

 

[Deshbhakt]

1. One road does not necessistate a call for election campaign propaganda.
But in real time there is indeed a dire need for the country to have a good road linking
those areas since and or aren't we the humans supposed to have sound
infrastructures? or do we put the animals before us?

2. Even if the mines are a reason, than still, we need to link and build a transportation
system to link eventually Uganda, Rwanda etc?

3. When the Americal billionaire John Tudor built a camp site (Grumeti Reserves)
and an airport at Magumu- Serengeti,to cater for the other privilaged millionaires than
where was EIA and this journalist?

4. Even and perhaps there is an ongoing ecosystem concern, can't and shouldn't the
animals adapt to the changes? There are hundreds if not thousand of such areas
undergoing changes through development etc, but somehow the names of these
places still remain along with their habitats?again, do we put animals's interest
before humans? Serengenti/Ngorongoro/Mara total area is 9,485 miles.How can one
road destory or create an impact on the habitat therein?

Certains sacrifices have to be made at times, and perhaps if this (one) road serves a purpose than why not?

 

[Kitumbo]

Mwanzo walisema ooh... wanyama ...ooh.. ecosystem, wakaona Watanzania hawadanganyiki sasa wameona hot topic in Tanzania ni wizi wa madini na rasilimali za nchi... hivyo wacha tuandike barabara ina agenda ya kuiba madini ili tupate support watu watapinga kwa nguvu wazo la serikali na kuupinga kwa nguvu zote mradi...
we are sorry, tumeng'amua. hii barabara ni muhimu kwetu na kwa taarifa wataalam wa kitanzania ndio wamefanya impact assesment na kuona kuwa uwepo wa barabara hiyo hauna madhara makubwa kwa ecosystem kama ilivyo kwa matengenezo ya mara kwa mara yanayofanywa kwa barabara iliyopo sasa. isitoshe barabara inayokusudiwa kujengwa inapita mbugani kwa kiasi cha km.57 tu ambacho ni kifupi kuliko km zaidi ya 250 za sasa. sasahivi speed limit kwa magari yanayopita mbugani ni 60km/h na hata baada ya lami kujengwa bado speed limit itabaki hiyohiyo ila tu barabara itakuwa ya kudumu na inapitika mwaka mzima

 

[LUSAJO L.M.]

Govt bows to pressure on Serengeti road Send to a friend Monday, 02 August 2010 15:36 0diggsdigg

By The Citizen Reporter

The government has partly bowed to pressure from international organisations and rescinded its decision to pave a road running across the world-famous Serengeti National Park (Senapa).

President Jakaya Kikwete said in his end-of-the month speech on Saturday evening that the government had decided not to tarmac the 50km stretch passing though the park. The stretch is part of a road planned by the government to link Mara and Arusha regions from Musoma in Mara to Mto wa Mbu in Arusha through Loliondo in Ngorngoro District.

The proposed project has drawn fierce criticism, mainly from international conservationists who claim that the project would jeopardise the spectacular annual migration of wildlife between Senapa and Kenya's Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

"I am aware of these sentiments, most of which are aired by people from abroad. I want to assure them that I am also a staunch supporter of the environment, and will be the last person to allow something which is going to destroy the nature," President Kikwete said as he sought to assure that world that the project would have no adverse effects on the ecosystem.

But he insisted that there was no way the government was going to abandon the project completely as suggested by some people.

"It is out policy to link all regions with all-weather roads," he said, adding that the Musoma-Mto wa Mbu road was no exception.

However, he noted that in view of environmental concerns, the stretch that runs through Senapa would not be paved. "The section will only be built to gravel level like other roads which run in the park," he insisted.

Stressing on the importance of the road, President Kikwete said people living in areas the road would pass through also deserved better social services like improved infrastructure.

He said denying them that basic right because of Senapa, while they are living outside the park, was hard to explain and unfair.

"I request the environmental activists to recognise this and give it due consideration. Considering only one side of the issue is not logical," he said.

He said he was amazed by the indifference shown by environmental organisations on the proposed project, saying vehicles moving between the two points travelled 204 kilometres through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Senapa, but no one had raised any concern while once 50km stretch of the proposed road passed through Senapa.

President Kikwete said the government was open to opinion and views from many stakeholders on the issue, but these should also provide a solution to the problem of poor infrastructure people in Ngorongoro and Serengeti districts were facing.

The project is a fulfilment of a pledge made by President Kikwete during the 2005 General Election campaigns.

The 480km road hit a snag in the past, following concern that a section that would pass through the park would endanger the wildlife migration. The wildlife migration attracts hundreds of tourists every year, earning Tanzania and Kenya millions of shillings in foreign exchange.

Campaigners are warning that the opening up of Senapa to commercial traffic would be disastrous because the proposed 53km of road through the world-acclaimed wilderness would jeopardise the animal trek and dent the park's ranking as one of the world's leading tourist attraction.

Some of the lobbyists, including Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania, are now planning to hold meetings and raise petitions to persuade the government to go for an alternative route around the park and leave Serengeti untouched.

"The Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) is soliciting support from Environmental NGOs to form a coalition which will conduct a campaign to avert the construction of a commercial highway through this critical part of the Serengeti," said the society in an email communication.

On forth coming General Election, President Kikwete appealed to Tanzanians to elect leaders who would serve them diligently during the next five years.

He said the government has managed to fulfil its responsibility to make the October 31 General Election effective.

He said for the past three years the government has been giving the National Electoral Commission (NEC) money and facilities including competent workers to enable it effectively execute the preparations for the General Election.

He said the government has also enacted a new Election Financing Act with intention of checking on the modalities of financing of election campaigns.

"Our election process was going astray... I believe that this law, together with agility by PCCB (Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau) will instil fear among corrupt people," he said.

On Zanzibar referendum, President Kikwete urged the side that would lose in the exercise held last Saturday to accept the results and cooperate with the wining side.

Results released in Zanzibar yesterday indicated that those who supported the formation of a government of national unity won by 66.4 percent.

President Kikwete said in his speech that Zanzibaris should distance themselves from acts that would jeopardise the peace which has started to take root in the isles.

 

[epigenetics]

Mkuu

Nchi kama south Africa zina lami katika mbuga za wanyama na watalii wanapita wakati wote bila vikwazo, hila tu zina ulinzi nafikiri hata watanzania katika kukuza utalii lazima wahakikishe wanapiga lami mbuga zote.

The concern sio lami kwa ajili ya watalii kupita. The concern ni hiyo barabara ku'create some sort of heavy traffic pindi malori, magari yakiwa yanapita katika mbuga kubwa kama Serengeti. Kuna tatizo pia la poachers - ni sawa na unawarahisishia namna ya kuperuzi mbugani. And most importantly uwepo wa lami au barabara kubwa katika mbuga kama serengeti itahathiri the great wildebeest migration.

Kuna suggestion ya barabara ili ipite kusini mwa serengeti, ambapo itasaidia vijiji zaidi kuliko hiyo tunayong'ang'ania ya kaskazini. Tazama hapa. Au serikali yetu inapata presha hii kutokana na mining interests - migodi itakayotaka barabara ipitie kwao?

 

[epigenetics]