Green has always been one of my favourite colours. The hues and shades it offers stand out in any environment- ocean, mountain, savannah or forest…and despite the odds even in the city.
It’s interesting though that many people today do not understand the value of a green environment. Appreciation for its beauty, scientific and natural value seems to thin out by the minute. The sacrifice of nature and wildlife for human “development”, greed and dirty politics is progressing at such great pace that emaciated flora and fauna is the grim future that awaits us. Over the years East Africa has been at the forefront of environmental disasters. The Mau forest and Nairobi city itself are stark examples of things going awry. Not surprisingly a UNESCO world heritage site is now under threat- The Serengeti National Park. A controversial highway is set to be built through the national park cutting across the migratory paths of approximately two million wildebeest that cross over from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara in search of food. This annual spectacle is one of the natural wonders of the world and plays a major role in the tourism and economic industries of both Kenya and Tanzania.
This isn’t the first threat that the Serengeti has faced but perhaps it is the most dangerous. The Tanzanian president, Mr. Kikwete has approved the plan to build a non-paved highway through the Serengeti national park dismissing world outrage and concern along with Nyerere doctrines as baseless. The Environment Impact assessment for his decision must be one of the worst in EIA history and offers no realistic solutions to the impact of the proposed highway. Development for any country is important but development must make sense in the long run as well. Naturalists and Environmentalists have shown that an alternate route – the southern route is a viable and more profitable solution. So why is the government of Tanzania still persisting on building the Serengeti highway? Three critical reasons come to mind,
1. Mining interests in the region
2. Ensuring a campaign promise made in 2005 is fulfilled and that the road will win more votes by easing the transport requirements of businesses by linking Musumba and Arusha.
3. Asserting government power by defying world recommendation
But the above three reasons are not justification enough to call forth a long term catastrophe.
A road through the National park is bound to increase the animal road kills. Roads to Mikumi National park in Zambia(5000 animal deaths per year), Tsavo (over 100 species per day) and even Bandipur in India (where animal road kills are said to exceed the poaching numbers) are just a few examples of where roads have lead to serious loss of animal life due to accidents. Many of you are familiar with the Maasai Mara. The July-September season is migration time and the pathways and roads through the park are heavily populated by wildebeest and zebra. Recently I got the chance to see this spectacle, and the thought of heavy commercial trucks through this site was more than horrifying. One combi can manage to kill atleast three of these animals in every herd. Now just imagine twenty to thirty trucks driving on a single stretch of road that has thousands of wildebeests’ crossing...I see blood. I see death.
Earlier this year Tanzania saw its proposal to sell off ivory revoked at the CITES meeting. Tanzania already has a problem, a growing problem, with poaching. A highway is a sure way of easing access for poachers and game hunters to their prey. The ease of transporting poacher’s loot will simply act as a catalyst for quick hauls and increase security problems in the region.
If the Tanzanian people are to benefit from the project, the southern route will serve five times the number of people (2,278,000 vs. 431,000). The southern route already has the infrastructure to support such a construction (fuel, lodging and so on) and can utilize existing roads reducing the cost of the entire project. The road is also likely to attract more donor-funding and has the greatest advantage of not interfering with the Serengeti ecosystem.
The increased pressure on the eco-system and natural habitat will eventually have a global impact. Increased infrastructure and agriculture in the area is bound to affect weather patterns, food cycles and the order of things radically.
The Serengeti National park, as a UNESCO world heritage site and as part of the seven world’s natural wonders, provides Tanzania with marketing for its country and boosts its tourism industry. Destroying this will definitely lead to a fall in the reputation of the country and worse still a boycott of tourism in the region resulting in a serious and detrimental loss of revenue for Tanzania and Kenya.
Human-wildlife conflict is such a clichéd phrase in this age and time simply because it is a very real and common problem, especially for us in Africa and in India where we have such diverse eco-systems. A commercial road through this area will increase this conflict. Settlements and an increasing human presence in the area, along with constructions of human amenities and an increase in noise and pollution will unnerve animals and could lead to attacks from both sides. As the animals cross through human populated areas any damage will result in a deterioration of the co-habitance
The above are only some of the reasons why the highway is a bad idea. Many of you reading this might wonder why a highway in some remote place in Tanzania should be of importance to you. Stop wondering. This road is, perhaps later than sooner, going to affect you. A reduction in tourism in East Africa, an increase in the crime rate through poaching, an increase in pollution, a dictatorial like regime and a loss of reputation is only the beginning of the problems the highway spearheads.
Green is not only one of my favourite colours it is also a colour that symbolizes new things and life. Imagine a future where you cannot breathe fresh air, a future where you cannot go on a safari, a future where research is restricted, a future where breathing would be stifling.
To quote his holiness the Dalai Lama, “Peace and the survival of life on earth as we know it are threatened by human activities that lack a commitment to humanitarian values. Destruction of nature and natural resources results from ignorance, greed and lack of respect for the earths’ living things.” It is time to end this war with nature. As a resident of East Africa and the world, take a stand and say YES to the greenway… and to life!
Kindly sign the petition to stop the highway
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_serengeti_highway
for more information http://www.savetheserengeti.org
Great, Shruthi - well put!
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