The African Regional Manager for the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Mr. Gelrald Bigurube, confirmed that the German government will finance construction of tarmac roads that will link dozens of rural villages adjacent to the Serengeti National Park. He said the "international community is also concerned with the needs of the people in an environmental friendly way but the road should not be close to the park because it will have serious impact that cannot be mitigated." The next step is up to President Kikwete who recently turned down an offer from the World Bank to fund the alternate route. Below, road system around the Serengeti, with proposed Serengeti Watch southern route. The government of Tanzania has approved a major commercial route across the Serengeti National Park, in the direct path of the greatest land migration on earth. Such a highway would destroy the integrity of a priceless World Heritage that has been protected by the people of Tanzania since the birth of their country. The Tanzanian government has a responsibility to work for development and welfare of its people. But in doing so, it does not need to sacrifice its most precious natural area, its income from tourism, or its heritage of conservation. The German government has a plan to help resolve this issue. It has offered to study and help find funding for an alternate southern route. In addition, it has generously offered to study and fund the building of local roads for communities living around the Serengeti. The World Bank has also offered to help fund the alternate route. The stakes are high. It is a critical test case for the 21st Century – do we have the vision and the will to work for the welfare of our expanding human population while still preserving our world’s priceless natural areas? If we can't save the Serengeti, what can we save? Go here to sign to the PETITION. Thank you for helping support such a worthy cause!
OVERVIEW
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Serengeti Update
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Serengeti Update
Kikwete: no southern route - road through the park to go ahead! There can be no more speculation that this was simply an empty election campaign promise, or that he was waiting for offers to fund a southern route.
Speaking yesterday to the World Bank, President Kikwete said that the "road to the south would not solve transport challenges of communities living on the northern side of the park," and yes, the northern route will be built. Again he repeated, "we will not build a tarmac road" - his familiar way of spinning this to the world.
In fact, there never was a government proposal to pave the road, and the initial road surface has never been the issue:
In early November, 2009, the Tanzanian government informed the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) of its intention to build this road. According to the WHC report, the Tanzanian government stated that the "53 km stretch within the Serengeti would be a gravel and not a tarmac road." That prompted the WHC to sound the alarm and warn of dire consequences.
Last summer, the government of Tanzania began to face increasing international opposition, including conservation organizations, governments, scientists, lending institutions such as the World Bank, and tens of thousands of people around the world.
In response, Kikwete said last September - okay, you win, we won't pave the road. To the uninformed, he appeared to give in. He repeated this mantra in Davos last month, saying it was all just a big misunderstanding, it wouldn't be paved. It will only be a little road to relieve some of the traffic in the central Serengeti.
Road, commercial route, highway, bike path - whatever the name, the results will be the same. According the the Tanzanian government's own Environmental Impact Statement, there will be 800 vehicles a day by 2015, 3,000 a day by 2035! One expert close to the issue has said, "Those traffic estimates are also believed to be vastly underestimated."
Interpolating these numbers into a yearly scenario gives a sobering view. See below. To get an appreciation for the real impact, add up the cumulative traffic. By the end of 2016, there will have been over a million vehicles passed through the park.
The questions are - how long before the highway will need to be paved? How long before it will need to be fenced? At what point in this scenario will the migration collapse? At what point will the people of Tanzania realize what has been done?
Estimated daily and yearly vehicle traffic through the Serengeti National Park.
Tony Sinclair, one of the world's foremost experts on the Serengeti, has said:
The soils are largely of silt and cannot take heavy vehicle traffic. Although the road may be initially of murrum or gravel, the increasing flow of vehicles will inevitably lead to a tarmac road. This will result in road kills when as many as one million wildebeest will be settled, not just crossing, along this road...Essentially the Serengeti as we know it will no longer exist. History has shown that once we start this process of road development, there is no turning back on the sequence.
We are led to believe that this is being done to help the people. But something else is under the surface.
What about the tourism revenue and jobs that will be lost? What else might be done with a budget of $470,000,000? What number of schools, dispensaries, hospitals, training centers, wells, veterinary services, social services, and local roads could be built? Are there really altruistic motives operating here? Or will a few people and a few large enterprises ultimately benefit?
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Thursday, February 3, 2011
Serengeti Update
Despite world protest and a recent offer from the World Bank, Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania, states that the northern route through the Serengeti will be built. For many months we've been asking lending institutions and donor governments to fund an alternative, southern route. To date, we have more than 25,000 signatures on our "Find and Fund an Alternative to the Serengeti Highway" petition. We know our collective voice has been heard. Finally, a few days ago, we were heartened to learn that the World Bank will offer the funding. Astonishingly, however, President Kikwete just told a representative of the World Bank that his government would indeed be going ahead with the northern route. In a press statement that could only be described as doublespeak, he affirmed that the northern route would be built (though he claims it's not a highway). Of course, a commercial highway it is. Paving and fencing will inevitably follow, as will towns, bean and wheat fields, wildlife collisions, and increased poaching. A section of the Park will be excised, fragmenting the ecosystem into two parts. The impact is inevitable, and once gone, the Serengeti will be gone forever. Scientists have spoken clearly and with one voice. Conservation organizations and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee have made their statements of protest. For our part, we will continue to build the case on how this Serengeti highway will affect Tanzania's economy. Not fully appreciated yet is the devastation to the economy of Tanzania this project will wreak. Already there is talk of a boycott against travel to Tanzania. We do not want this to happen, so we must make our case as convincingly as we can. Please stay with us. We'll be offering opportunities for you to get involved and make your voice heard. See our survey and report on economic impacts.
