Stop the serengeti highway: Your opinion please!

[Ba Loreen]

WILL IT BE JOYFUL OR SADNESS AS SERENGETI ROAD CONSRTUCTION SET TO BEGIN?


FINALLY the construction of the much awaited Makutano-Juu- Mto Wa Mbu highway that will link residents of Mara and Arusha regions via the world famous Serengeti National Parkis set to begin any time during this financial year (2011-2012). Over one billion shillings has been set aside to upgrade the road to tarmac level.

READ THIS ARTICLE CAREFU: SOURCEhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13904464

Controversial plans to build a tarmac road across the Serengeti National Park have been scrapped after warnings that it could devastate wildlife.
The Tanzanian government planned a two-lane highway across the park to connect Lake Victoria with coastal ports.
But studies showed it could seriously affect animals such as wildebeest and zebra, whose migration is regarded as among the wonders of the natural world.
The government confirmed the road across the park will remain gravel.
The bat-eared fox is another Serengeti resident, and depends on wildebeest for much of its food
In a letter sent to the World Heritage Centre in Paris, the Department of Natural Resources and Tourism says the 50km (30-mile) section of road across the park will "continue to be managed mainly for tourism and administrative purposes, as it is now".
The government is considering an alternative route for a major trade highway that would run to the south of the park.
This would avoid areas of high conservation value, and - although a longer route - would bring the opportunities afforded by a modern transport link to more people.
Last year, a group of scientists warned that the proposed road across the park could bring the number of wildebeest in the park, estimated at about 1.3 million, down to 300,000.
Collisions between animals and traffic would be unavoidable, they said.
And with a corridor on either side of the road taken out of the hands of the park authorities and given to the highways agency, fencing would almost certainly result, blocking movement of the herds.
If wildlife were damaged, they warned, that could also affect the local economy, in which tourism plays a major role.
'Wonder of nature'
The researchers described the Serengeti as "a rare and iconic example of an ecosystem driven by a large mammal migration".
That annual north-to-south trek involves about 1.5 million animals, including wildebeest and zebra.
More than a million wildebeest live in the Serengeti
As the animals travel, they dump vast quantities of urine and dung across the land, fertilising plant growth, while the trampling of hooves also prevents bush from over-growing the grassland.
An impact assessment compiled for the government confirmed the expected impact on migration, adding that the decline of wildebeest and zebra would have a knock-on effect on predators such as lions and cheetahs.
These are among the animals that tourists come to see.
Scientists also warned that the road could bring invasive plant species or unfamiliar diseases into the park, a World Heritage Site.
Last year, the World Heritage Committee expressed its "utmost concern" about the "potentially irreversible damage" that the highway could bring.
Environmental campaigners have welcomed the government's decision, with the organisation Serengeti Watch saying: "A battle has been won".
However, they warned that the region faces a number of other threats, including roads around the park and poaching.

 

[Keykey]

Watani zetu kule mtaa wa pili wanailalamika kweli kweli! Ajabu wabongo wenyewe wamekaa kimya, si kupinga wala kutetea!

 

[Njaare]

WILL IT BE JOYFUL OR SADNESS AS SERENGETI ROAD CONSRTUCTION SET TO BEGIN?


FINALLY the construction of the much awaited Makutano-Juu- Mto Wa Mbu highway that will link residents of Mara and Arusha regions via the world famous Serengeti National Parkis set to begin any time during this financial year (2011-2012). Over one billion shillings has been set aside to upgrade the road to tarmac level.

READ THIS ARTICLE CAREFU: SOURCEhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13904464

Controversial plans to build a tarmac road across the Serengeti National Park have been scrapped after warnings that it could devastate wildlife.
The Tanzanian government planned a two-lane highway across the park to connect Lake Victoria with coastal ports.
But studies showed it could seriously affect animals such as wildebeest and zebra, whose migration is regarded as among the wonders of the natural world.
The government confirmed the road across the park will remain gravel.
The bat-eared fox is another Serengeti resident, and depends on wildebeest for much of its food
In a letter sent to the World Heritage Centre in Paris, the Department of Natural Resources and Tourism says the 50km (30-mile) section of road across the park will "continue to be managed mainly for tourism and administrative purposes, as it is now".
The government is considering an alternative route for a major trade highway that would run to the south of the park.
This would avoid areas of high conservation value, and - although a longer route - would bring the opportunities afforded by a modern transport link to more people.
Last year, a group of scientists warned that the proposed road across the park could bring the number of wildebeest in the park, estimated at about 1.3 million, down to 300,000.
Collisions between animals and traffic would be unavoidable, they said.
And with a corridor on either side of the road taken out of the hands of the park authorities and given to the highways agency, fencing would almost certainly result, blocking movement of the herds.
If wildlife were damaged, they warned, that could also affect the local economy, in which tourism plays a major role.
'Wonder of nature'
The researchers described the Serengeti as "a rare and iconic example of an ecosystem driven by a large mammal migration".
That annual north-to-south trek involves about 1.5 million animals, including wildebeest and zebra.
More than a million wildebeest live in the Serengeti
As the animals travel, they dump vast quantities of urine and dung across the land, fertilising plant growth, while the trampling of hooves also prevents bush from over-growing the grassland.
An impact assessment compiled for the government confirmed the expected impact on migration, adding that the decline of wildebeest and zebra would have a knock-on effect on predators such as lions and cheetahs.
These are among the animals that tourists come to see.
Scientists also warned that the road could bring invasive plant species or unfamiliar diseases into the park, a World Heritage Site.
Last year, the World Heritage Committee expressed its "utmost concern" about the "potentially irreversible damage" that the highway could bring.
Environmental campaigners have welcomed the government's decision, with the organisation Serengeti Watch saying: "A battle has been won".
However, they warned that the region faces a number of other threats, including roads around the park and poaching.

Nafikiri wanaopinga uwepo wa hii barabara watupe hela ya kujenga tunnel inayopita eneo hilo hilo. Tusipinge uwepo wa barabara kwa mambo ya kuambiwa kwa manufaa ya nchi jirani

 

[Jackbauer]

nilishawahi kuwaomba hawa wanamazingira feki watusaidie fedha ya kujenga flyover kwenye kipande kinacholalamikiwa!hawaelewi na wameendelea kubwabwaja kwa interests za kikundi kidogo hasa cha wakenya na mabwana zao wa kizungu.

 

[Saint Ivuga]

bara bara isijengwe ..utalii unatoa pato kubwa sana..long term effect yake ni kubwa sana hii road ikijengwa mnaoitaka mnatumia masa na hamuangalii mbali

 

[mpinga shetani]

Wala msihofu. Hawana ubavu wa kifedha wa kutekeleza huo mradi na of course safari hii wafadhili wote hawataki kusikia huo ujinga

 

[Hiphop]

Habari wana JF, nimekuwa nikifuatilia habari za ujenzi wa barabara hiyo kwa kipindi kirefu sasa.Nimesikia maoni kutoka kwa wanamazingira,serikali ya tanzania na wananchi wa pande zote mbili(Mugumu-Musoma na Loliondo-Manyara)
Nimepitia pia mapendekezo ya ramani ya barabara kutoka pande zote,nimeona hiyo barabara itakayopita serengeti ambayo serikali imesema itaijenga na nimeona pia barabara ya kusini ambayo wanamazingira wanapendekeza.Maoni yangu ni:
1. Hoja ya kwamba barabara ijengwe na kuacha km 50 za changarawe sioni kama ina tija yoyote maana wakati wa migration ya wanyama huchukua ukubwa wa hadi km 100, hivyo hofu ya wanyama hawa kugongwa na magari ni kubwa mno hivyo kuhatarisha uwepo wao.
2. Kipande hicho cha km 50 ambacho hatikawekwa lami kitachochea zaidi ajali maana madereva huwa wanaongeza zaidi spidi kwenye barabara hiyo ya changarawe ili kumaliza hicho kipande kuwahi lami ya upande mwingine hivyo hofu ya wanyama kugongwa bado ni kubwa.
3.Ukisikiliza sababu za kiuchumi za kuwepo kwa barabara hiyo wala haziridhishi,hakuna biashara yoyote yenye tija inayofanyika kati ya loliondo na mugumu maana kwa upande wa loliondo wamasai hawategemei sana mahindi kutoka mugumu ili kuishi na kwa upande wa mugumu wao ni wafugaji na wakulima hivyo hawana wanachohitaji loliondo.
4.Hoja ya kuwa eti musoma na mwanza inahitaji kununua bidhaa arusha hivyo barabara hiyo itasaidia haina tija kwa maana watu wa musoma, mwanza na kanda ya ziwa kwa ujumla wanategemea sana soko la bidhaa la nairobi na ni karibu kuliko kwenda arusha. Vilevile watu wa Arusha soko lao kubwa la bidhaa ni nairobi na wala sio kanda ya ziwa hivyo barabara hiyo haitakuwa na tija.
5. Ni kweli kuwa wananchi wa pande zote mbili wanahitaji barabara ili kuwezesha maendeleo hivyo maoni yangu ni kuwa barabara ijengwe mpaka kufika loliondo na upande mwingine iishie mugumu,hela inayobaki iboreshe barabara za vijiji kuunganisha na hiyo barabara ya lami ili kuwezesha wananchi kufika Loliondo na Mugumu bila shida
6. Sioni umuhimu wa barabara ya kusini ambayo kwanza ni ndefu sana na haina tija,kwa kuwa hao wanamazingira wana hela ya kutoa kujenga barabara yoyote ile ila sio ya serengeti hivyo ni wakati muafaka wa kuanza kuwekeze katika ile barabara kuu ya kaskazini ambayo wengi tuliisoma katika historia inayounganisha Cairo hadi Cape town. Barabara hiyo ambayo itaanzia katika bandari ya Tanga itapita kati mlima kilimanjaro na kibo kisha kwenda mpaka loliondo kisha mpaka Nairobi kisha kuvuka mpaka Uganda kuelekea Juba hadi Cairo. Barabara hiyo ikipita Nairobi itakuwa karibu sana na upande wa lake zone hivyo barabara kutoka Mugumu hadi Nairobi kwa lami haitakuwa ndefu na barabara hiyo itasaidia kuunganisha mwanza na nchi jirani za Burundi na Rwanda hivyo kuziwezesha kutumia bandari ya Tanga na soko la nairobi kujipatia biashara mbalimbali.
Ni maoni yangu kuwa barabara hii ya kutoka cairo hadi cape town itakuwa na manufaa makubwa kwa jumuiya ya afrika mashariki hivyo ni wakati wa kupanua uwezo wetu wa mawazo kwa kuangalia nafasi nyingine za kimaendeleo.
Ahsanteni!