Stakeholders urge government to gazette wildlife corridors

 

By 

Zephania Ubwani

Summary

·         Although over 60 of patches of land connecting national parks, game areas and forest reserves have been identified as animal migration routes, they are yet to be gazetted

Arusha. It is time that the government moved decisively to clarify the status of wildlife corridors, conservation stakeholders say, so as to protect endangered wild animals.

Although over 60 of patches of land connecting national parks, game areas and forest reserves have been identified as animal migration routes, they are yet to be gazetted.

“By not being gazetted, they don’t exist in law. They are not in the governance system,” said Faustin Zacharia, the director of Tanzania Natural Resource Forum (TNRF).

He told a forum of stakeholders here that despite wildlife corridors’ role in ecological sustenance, some wildlife corridors were on the verge of disappearing.

“They are either not properly managed or have been turned into settlements. To save them, they should be gazetted,” he pointed out.

The forum in Arusha was organized by the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) with the support of the United States aid agency, USAID.

Wildlife corridors are areas that act as a safe transition zone for migratory animals. At times, animals may even live and thrive there indefinitely.

They are popular in the northern regions as they connect the wildlife protected sites such as the national parks, game reserves and wildlife management areas (WMAs).

However, there had been rising concerns among the conservation experts that the migratory routes would soon vanish due to increased human activities.

Some of them have either been blocked by human settlements and farms while others have shrunk to an extent of losing their status.

According to Mr Zacharia, although livestock grazing was allowed in wildlife corridors, it was not the case for human settlements.

Much of the discussion at the three-day forum centred on Kwakuchinja, one of the most known wildlife migratory routes in the country.

The corridor, at the border of Arusha and Manyara region, connects three major conservation sites; Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks and Lake Natron basin.

However, participants at the forum decried the fact that the wildlife route was not serving the purpose because it cannot be protected without being gazetted.

Dr Elikana Kalumanga Ngallaba, the private sector engagement manager of the USAID-supported ‘Tuhifadhi Maliasili Project’ said the corridor offered ample opportunities.

These include investment opportunities in sustainable livestock herding, sustainable wildlife conservation and tourism, among others.

However, he rooted for full involvement of the private sector in putting up requisite facilities for tourists and management of nature-based resources.

According to him, the area surrounding Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor near the shores of Lake Manyara offered some opportunities for the investors.

The Burunge WMA, one of the country’s best managed and Manyara cattle ranch, where livestock and wild animals co-exist, fall within the corridor.

Frank Lekwasa, an Arusha-based mountain guide, said the failure to formalize the wildlife migration routes impeded investments in the area.

“These areas should be demarcated with beacons. The government on the other hand should put in place conducive policies,” he pointed out.

A TPSF official Max Rugamuikamu echoed these sentiments, stressing that engagement of the private sectors was critical for sustainable management of the natural resources.

“The private sector should be encouraged to invest in hotels and small processing industries in the area. Revenues accrued should be spent to boost conservation” he said.

However, Alfred Massawe differed, saying determined conservation of Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor and others in the country was not a walk in the park.

“Some of the corridors are within the village land. There is a conflict of interest here. Kwakuchinja has not been gazetted and if that is done, where will the villagers go?” he asked.

Experts say the survival of migratory animals requires intact corridors and that failure to gazette the corridors will see the country losing the wildlife to other favourable ecosystems.