The Serengeti Highway

Over the last month or so there has been a growing interest on Africa, with focus on the world cup, and of course the highly controversial Serengeti highway.

The world cup has come and gone having enjoyed the attention of the world at large. The proposed Serengeti Highway and the consequences that are bound to follow such a construction are here to stay and should be of major concern to the people of Tanzania, East Africa, and the rest of the world.

The Serengeti National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is home to vast species of fauna and hosts approximately seventy larger mammal species. It provides an ecosystem whose diversity cannot be matched. 

The Serengeti National park in its entirety is under threat.

News of the proposed Serengeti highway is sparking outrage around the world. The highway that is meant to connect Arusha and Musumba is a fulfilment of a political campaign promise. This highway, officials argue will run through the northern part of the Serengeti and will not disrupt the annual wildebeest migration to and from the Maasai Mara. Officials continue saying that the road will provide residents along the area with much needed development and offer great benefits. Ministers have been quoted in various articles stating that studies and research have been conducted and there will be no impact on the wildlife. The results of the same studies are nowhere to be seen.

Conservationists and environmentalists, on the other hand, have been able to show how the proposed highway will definitely impact the migration, the ecosystem and in the long run a whole lot more.

As a concerned resident of East Africa and as someone who has watched the migration and been to the Maasai Mara, there are numerous thoughts that come to mind.

- An intrusion into wildlife conserved space is bound to increase the already fragile balance between humans and wildlife. Human-wildlife conflict is already a grave concern. Further encroachment on free land will mean an increase in this conflict (which is already a great strain on any environmental institute or organization – governmental or non-governmental). Can the Tanzanian & Kenyan governments handle this increase and maintain their tourist incomes?

- It seems very likely that if this highway is built, more governments in the region, continent and perhaps the world will go ahead and have infrastructures built within national reserves, game parks and even sanctuaries. Are we then going to wipe out entire species? This seems very likely and if it comes into play, we are looking at a decline in tourism, a decline in research and scientific activity in the area, a decline in avenues for medical and other research, a loss of knowledge for us and future generations, and a complete mess of food cycles and ecosystems.

- Tanzania already has a problem with poaching. Can the government proposing the highway give the world a guarantee that the road will not increase the ease with which animals - the “endangered African elephant” especially - will be poached. Poachers are sure to have easier access into the game park and a much easier way to transport out their “loot”. Is this highway then a path to increasing illegal activities such as poaching? A standard example is the Nairobi- Mombasa highway that cuts through Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. The highway and development around it allows poachers and game meat hunters to regularly attack vulnerable animals in the area including the endangered African elephant.

- Arguments that the wildebeest and other migratory animals can still cross a road appear childish. Take for example, a migratory group that stretches a 30KM path – how many cars on the highway will wait for the animals to cross over? How long will they wait? Can the studies and research that have apparently been carried out make a clear statement on the animal road kills that are likely to occur? Statistics from studies done on the Tanzania-Zambia highway that crosses the Mikumi National Park shows that road deaths of animals was estimated at 21•8 road kills per kilometer,per year, once the highway was laid out. Using these figures, we are looking at approximately 5000 deaths per year on a 400 Km highway, by road kills alone. The migratory patterns of these animals is sure to change. Animals are human, noise and pollution shy and with the development of a highway, all three of these factors will be on an increase - human influx, noise from the traffic and pollution from vehicles traversing the road will pronounce, sooner than later, an end to the greatest migration spectacle of the world.

- Garbage. The word may sound trivial but its impact is extremely poisonous. As the number of users on the proposed highway increases, the likelihood of garbage finding itself around the area, is a guarantee. A standard example is the Nairobi National park. The effects of the development in the Kitengela area is pronounced: fewer animal are seen on that end of the park and familiar sites of plastic bags and cartons can be seen flitting across the Savannah. How is the government proposing to handle this potential garbage menace? What impact will the garbage have on animal populations?

The above are perhaps a few of the numerous impacts of the highway. This is a call to East African Governments, The Tanzanian People, All tourist boards and companies and the people of the world to ensure that the Tanzanian Government opts for the alternate route for this highway that passes south of the Serengeti. This route apart from benefiting more people will also remove the pressures from a highly vulnerable ecosystem. I ask that,

- The Tanzanian Government unwaveringly stand by its pledge and signed mandate to protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site and take whatever measures are necessary to stop the highway encroaching on Serengeti space. As the extract below shows:

The United Republic of TANZANIA ratified the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION on 02 August 1977. This Convention lays down the legal requirements for status, recognition and obligations in respect of WORLD HERITAGE SITES.

TANZANIA, through its government, not only VIOLATES such a significant global 'convention', ...but it also VIOLATES it's own national obligations, as a member of the UNITED NATIONS, by NOT adhering to that organization's charters, treaties and conventions of all related bodies (such as UNESCO) to which TANZANIA is a committed signatory.

- All Tourist Boards and Companies to exert pressure along with their voice of protest to the government of Tanzania. The loss of this park is going to make a dramatic difference and a negative one to tourism and the country's reputation. The highway will also put at risk the economies of both Tanzania and Kenya. The revenues collected by tourism from both these countries cannot be matched by a single highway. It is then time for the Kenyan government and other officials to exert economic and political pressure on the Tanzanian Government to avert this danger. It is time for action.

- NGO’s, Research Institutes, Scientists and Educational institutes to stand against this highway. I call on the aforesaid to make their stance clear, iterating the damage that is likely to occur and re-iterating that there are alternatives that can work as well if not better.

- The East African region which has over the years has been faced with degrading environments and dodgy environmental issues (the Mau forest in Kenya, Tanzania’s move to trade in ivory are just a few example) take a stand. The threat to the Serengeti and other east African sites has become one too many. This is a call to the people of the world to say enough is enough. In Wangari Maathai’s words, “The environment is not about today or tomorrow. The environment is about all the time. It is about the air we breathe. It is about the water we drink.” For the logical people out there, it is time to dig in deeper to the impacts of the environmental damage that this single highway could propagate. It could in the next fifteen or so years determine whether you are able to drink water. It is about whether your children and future generations can reap the benefits of a formidable and matchless ecosystem. It is time for people to stand and say that you will not allow a government to make short sighted selfish decisions.

- The people of Tanzania demand transparency and fairness in all government action, starting here. Can all Tanzanian businesses and people ask for clarity on the research and studies conducted by the government on the impacts of the highway. Can we jointly make a call that the people who carried out this research have open debates with environmentalists, other politicians, statisticians and scientists so we can all better understand the underlying issues.

The above are only some of the impacts and reasons why the proposed Serengeti highway should not be ratified. It is even more concerning that institutes such as the World Bank lack the responsibility and/or authority to force the government to opt for the alternate route. This article is long but needs to be so because there are as many concerns that must be dealt with. For all the sceptics, please feel free to conduct your own research on the issue and make a change.