Filosofia ya Rorya
JF-Expert Member
- Sep 20, 2021
- 3,214
- 3,587
Category: Environment
Image by the courtesy of Google
The President should disinherit the creek lands from the slum dwellers and cultivators and claim back their ownership for national interest. By this, all creeks of Dar es Salaam e.g. Jangwani, Mzinga, Msimbazi, Kunduchi Wet Lands e.t.c should be added to the list of nationally conserved areas under available National Conservation Act. Big investments that are already in the areas should be left to continue but must strictly observe laws of conservation without exception whatsoever, and this must include restricting conserved areas from illegal access and trespassing. Alternatively, those big investments can be given a grace period of not less than 10 years maximum and 5 years minimum to relocate to other areas and the government can allocate them those new sites without cost.
State should declare the creeks to be conserved coastal areas which should not be inhabited by human and to safeguard them I suggest that the State should deploy game warders to watch them fulltime. This means all dwellers must be evicted and leave all the creeks for State use. If it is possible to demolish and evict those who invaded plots which were not allocated to them including those who encroach national parks, then why not these unauthorized invaders of these valleys of Dar es Salaam?
Alternatively, the State may decide to reallocate the areas to say University of Dar es Salaam for academic purpose of studying marine science, Mwika College of Wildlife for studying coastal wildlife and or Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute for research on Mangrove fishing for mud fish. Sokoine University of Agriculture could also be added to the list for botanical studies and forestry research of mangroves. Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences can too use the areas for research on vectors that cause water borne diseases especially, bilharzias/schistosomiasis, typhoid, cholera e.t.c. As well, Ardhi University can be allocated the areas for academic purpose of wet lands research.
Given the magnitude of global concern for ecological deprivation, it is high time now that Tanzania should consider establishing environmental court of competent jurisdiction to reinforce NEMC whose salient mandate is among others to protect, conserve and arraign to this suggested court all culprits for ecological destruction. The court may not necessarily be a full time one, but occasional [like the constitutional court] depending on the available cases brought by NEMC for determination.
Among the benefits of conserving these creeks are:-
Restoration of original ecosystem.
Regulation of Dar es Salaam atmospheric temperature if original flora and fauna is restored. We have case study of TPDF camps which have reserve forests strategic for defence but on the other hand these dense forests assist in regulating atmospheric temperature for the locations where they exist, as such, TPDF features among the key role players in green politics. Ecologists consider Amazon gigantic forest as the lungs of the world for it generates 60% of global air (oxygen) and 30% of rains.
Tourist attractions.
Addressing chronic insecurity that originates from the areas.
Culmination of the problem of flood victims that has been burdening the government for quite long now.
Bona fide owners of the areas will be known.
The areas will after a given period of incubation following their reoccupation contribute income to State coffers through tourism, fishing and reaping of mangroves for construction purpose.
Holiday recreation as internal tourism.
Legal reaping of mangroves.
Creation of Dar greenbelt for city beautification.
Mangrove fishing for mud fishes which nutritionally are believed to be rich in protein for brain development in kids, vitamin, omega3 fats to fight off coronary heart disease; and which are poor in excess lipids that are feared for cholesterol.
Restoration of endangered animal, bird and plant species in the areas.
Jangwani creek provides pasture for rare bats [like those in Chole village in Mafia Island] which shelter on the big trees of East Upanga along Ali Hassan Mwinyi road.
If original ecology is restored as the result of reoccupation of the areas for conservation by the State, to some extent it will rid Dar es Salaam of industrial emissions of polluted gases that impact on public health particularly cardiovascular conditions as plants will consume large part of tonnage of gases emitted by numerous factories that are scattered within human settlement due to breach of available city master plan.
Effects of ozone depletion will be discounted by vegetations along these areas and boost health of the people of Dar es Salaam in the long run while industrialized giants of the world are still entangled in the war of words debating control of ozone layer; conservation of these areas is among the affordable measures that Dar as LDC can take without seeking external support.
Creeks, also if conserved, help to minimize effects of oceanic storms by reducing their forces, but also plummeting effects of increasing volume [tide] of ocean waters.
If the decision to conserve these creeks is reached and enforced, it will let the creeks do their natural function of receiving wastes vomited by the ocean thus reduce human vulnerability to environmental health hazards.
Creeks and the ocean do the recycling of waste materials whereby after creeks receive wastes discharged by the ocean, they decompose them by the help of salinity and mangroves which store them and again the ocean takes them back by the route of backlash-waves during high tide; in the form of plankton to feed marine animals including fish which also with assured enough food, enables them to breed and provide food to humans and the humans also sustain their living, let alone forex that the nation earns through fishing.
Conservation of these areas will also permit vegetations provide academic case-studies for hydrotropism, phototropism and geotropism/gravitropism for Dar es Salaam which leads in big number of schools without need to costly travel upcountry.
Moreover, this conservation will make Dar city be among the none or few cities in the world that have conserved nature within them. Many more could be attained if the creeks are conserved.
I’m convinced beyond doubt that efficacy of available national conservation laws that we have seen functioning severely without reservation in other conserved areas of this nation can help to address once and for all the longstanding problem of these creek areas in Dar es Salaam; that has now evolved to political agenda and turned to be the bone of contention as structures are bulldozed and occupants evicted but when elections approach or even during summer, they get back to the valleys and put new structures.
Unfortunately as of now, these profitable valleys are used for anything from human settlement, home for research mosquitoes, peasantry, gardening, grazing, pitch, public gatherings, fishing, sand excavation, hideouts for criminals, rituals, sorcery and superstition [cases have been testified of this when spiritual crusade meetings are done there], car wash to dump sites by both humans and the investments [factories] along them which again emit tons of toxic wastes to the ocean and vandalize marine ecosystem.
It is in these creeks where you find streams whose waters change colour like chameleon due to industrial waste chemicals that are believed to be silent killers and whose therapy for conditions in humans is somewhat out of reach in terms of bills and know-how. I am again sure that if the areas are conserved, in just ten years time, they will never be the same as now and the Metropolitan Dar will completely be face lifted and not dilapidated by illegal human activity in the creeks.
These efforts should go altogether with those of addressing e-wastes that pollute Kariakoo CBD beyond belief. If banning business of selling e-wastes proves difficult, alternatively authorities should consider introducing e-waste levy whose tariff should be excessive to enable the business die just naturally. The efforts should address alongside them noise pollution in CBDs across the country.
By my own hands and intellect.
Vote for me.
