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Put national interests first in Serengeti hotel debate
2006-03-29 08:08:16
By Editor
Yestarday we carried a story on the uncertainty over the survival of the Serengeti National Park (Senapa) following what has been described as growing threats confronting its biodiversity.
And this concern has been raised by none other than Senapa Chief Warden Justin Hando, who also doubles as the park’s chief conservationist, when he spoke to a parliamentary committee recently.
He said these threats resulted largely from increased human activities in core areas such as wildlife migratory routes and corridors as well as their dispersal areas.
Hando was of the opinion that Senapa’s core areas should remain intact for it to maintain its reputation as an important biodiversity hotspot.
As at the moment, its ecosystem has been hit by human activities such as cultivation, development of settlements and poaching, all of which, he said, were incompatible with conservation interests.
He called for the intervention of the government to save Tanzania’s most famous and prestigious natural heritage from imminent destruction.
However, the development of human settlements, cultivation and poaching are not the only factors threatening the survival of Senapa as the park also faces a serious threat in the form of investments such as the proposed five-star hotel to be built in the park.
The project is currently the subject of a heated debate with those opposing it maintaining that it would increase human activities in the park and therefore increase the threat to its biodiversity.
In this, the project’s opponents are supported by some international institutions and NGOs that fight for the conservation of the environment and natural ecosystems.
On their part, the project’s proponents say that the proposed 200-bed hotel would increase many times over the much needed foreign exchange earnings from tourism.
They project that over a million tourists would be visiting the park by 2010.
It is also understood that the management of the park is under pressure to give in to the project, conceived when the Third Phase government was in office, the go-ahead.
However, the developers have raised one contentious issue — that they be given a freehand to select the proposed hotel’s location within the park.
Those against the project say this alone shows how little control Tanzanians have over their natural inheritance.
Needless to say, it is the government – the Fourth Phase government – that will have the final say on the matter, and considering the stance of this administration over the whole issue of environmental conservation, a plain sailing for the project may not be wholly guaranteed.
However, it is a case that pits two sides with strong presentations — the need to protect the environment of the country’s most esteemed natural heritage that is world famous against the need to generate the much needed foreign exchange for state coffers.
It is against this background that we call upon the government to give the matter utmost consideration while keeping the interests of the nation in mind.
The question of long-term hazards to the park (which God may not be ready to accord us with its restoration once we destroy it) against the millions of dollars to be reaped from such a venture should be weighed carefully.
It should not be a decision based on satisfying the needs of a greedy few at the expense of the country as a whole. It should be a decision aimed at making policy makers see the long-term economic value of our natural resources.
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