Tanzania: Take Care On Coastal Areas, Investors Urged

THE National Environment Management Council (NEMC) has called on prospective investors to be

acquainted with environmental history of coastal places they plan to put their money into, to avert damage on expensive infrastructure caused by floods many years after establishment of the infrastructure.

The call was made by the NEMC Director General, Dr Samuel Gwamaka, after inspecting damage caused to infrastructure by rising waters of Lake Tanganyika in various places of Kigoma Region.

He said in one year, the water level of Lake Tanganyika rose by over 1.3 metres and that in 14 years, it did so by 3.19 metres. He said they were planning to research on the changing levels of water bodies in Tanzania.

Dr Gwamaka said NEMC was concerned with human activities in and around sources of water, deforestation and increasing siltation in water bodies.

He said the Valley Water Resources Authority had invaluable information on the history of valleys and coastal areas and advised investors to seek information from the authority before making decisions on their investment plans.

Dr Gwamaka also made a reminder on the effects of climate change that he said had serious environmental impacts in everyday life, explaining that such effects should be constantly considered in decision making on various issues.