Elephants at their watering hole. PHOTO | FILE
Mwandishi wa habari
Mwananchi
Summary
· The interdependence of humans and wildlife continues to be threatened by the dwindling numbers of animals and increasing human activity
Kilombero. The environmental pollution that threatens climate
change in the Kilombero River Basin is putting pressure on the survival of
endangered species, which authorities are taking measures to save.
In 2021, the International
Organization for Conservation and Nature (IUCN) listed 120 species that are at
risk of disappearing in Tanzania. These include 19 animals, 14 birds, 29
reptiles, and 58 amphibians.
In the Udzungwa National Park and
Magombera Forest, the threatened species include red monkeys (Procolobus
gordonorum), Temminck’s pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), Magombera chameleons, and
African elephants (Loxodonta Africana).
However, on the red list, no
creature has been declared extinct so far.
Tanzania Wildlife Management
Authority (Tawa) said it has been conducting regular patrols in the valley,
providing awareness and strengthening the boundaries of the reserved areas to
eliminate human interference with wildlife.
“The basin is facing the challenge
of invasion by human activities, particularly housing, livestock keeping,
agriculture, and illegal fishing.” “These activities have led to a significant
decrease in wildlife due to the environmental pollution,” said Tawa
Conservation Commissioner, Mr. Mabula Misungwi.
The Udzungwa National Park assistant
conservation commissioner, Mr. Abel Peter, said there is a need to control
damage caused by human activities to the valley.
“The elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis)
we see are currently in the group of endangered species as poaching is
reemerging.” “That’s why we have strengthened the protection,” Mr Peter said
during a media visit to Morogoro region.
According to him, more than 90
percent of the 100 square kilometers of forests were harvested between the
Udzungwa Mountains and the Nyerere National Park.
“The biodiverse forests were damaged
since the 1950s as agricultural activities have led to the clearing of
approximately one million hectares of forest within the valley.” “There are
6,471 hectares left,” he said.
The park is one of the 22 national
parks with more than 2,500 trees and 12 types of monkeys and is the source of
water for Kidatu Dam, Kihansi, and Kilombero Valley, which are used for rice
cultivation and sugarcane production at the Kilombero Sugar Factory.
The reserve also receives an average
of 8,000 tourists per year, he said.
The director of wildlife at the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dr. Maurus Msuha, said the issue of
conservation is sustainable, which is why the government has set aside 32.5
percent of the land as wildlife sanctuaries, against the target of 30 percent
in the world by 2030.
“This shows the importance of Tanzania
in the conservation of biodiversity in the world,” said Dr Msuha.
The executive secretary of the
Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato), Mr. Sirili Akko, said the
contribution of these species is important in ecology, praising the security
that continues to be strengthened. “Those birds and amphibians are very
important in ecology. We cannot take them for granted in business and
marketing,” he said.
Poaching back?
According to the officials of the
Udzungwa reserve, which is estimated to have more than 2,000 elephants, a
motorcycle rider was arrested with three pieces of elephant tusks in January
this year, at the border of the Iringa and Morogoro regions.
Recently, officials from the Ruaha
National Park (Runapa) arrested three people in Iringa with eight elephant
tusks and six other pieces worth more than Sh206 million.
Gasto Colman, a warden in the
Udzungwa Reserve, said all the perpetrators were still in custody while the
process to charge them in court was ongoing.
“One of the arrested is from Dodoma,
and another is from Msolwa village. There are also residents of these areas.
The search for poachers continues in order to protect the natural resources,”
he said.
The chairman of Sole Village within
the Kilombero district, Mr. Wendo Isdory, said the elephants are threatening
students at a secondary school that is suspected of having been built in the
elephant corridor.
“The elephants always pass by the
school during the day, and it is very dangerous,” he said.
Between 2019 and 2021, the number of
incidents of elephants entering and exiting the villages located in the middle
of the reserve increased from 167 to 300.
However, the project manager of the
three-year restoration project of the Kilombero elephant sanctuary in the
valley, Mr. Josephat Mwalugelo, said that within four years of the project,
they have already started to see hope.
The project has provided
compensation of Sh2 billion to 179 farms located on 13.5 km of elephant routes,
education in schools, loans to groups, and the building of a solar fence to
prevent elephants from entering the human shelter.
Morogoro regional natural resources
officer Joseph Chuwa said that among the measures that have been taken to
control the threat is the establishment of a committee of nine members for the
management of the swamp under the Kilombero District Commissioner’s office.
“There are incidents of damages and
deaths of residents killed by elephants.” “There are also incidents in which
elephants have been killed by people after getting into farming fields in the
past,” said Mr Mwalugelo.
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