THE German government has donated an aircraft to
Tanzania to reinforce anti-poaching efforts in Selous Game Reserve, located in
southern part of the country. Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr Gerd Müller, handed over a symbolic key
of the ‘Husky aircraft’ worth Tshs. 498.2 billion to Minister for Natural
Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe. According to their joint
statement issued last week in Da\r es Salaam. The aircraft will be deployed by
Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) in close cooperation with the Tanzanian
Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) for surveillance of wildlife in the Selous
Game Reserve and to support the fight against poaching. Speaking at the
hand-over ceremony held at Matambwe Airstrip in the game reserve, the German
Minister said: “Poaching threatens biodiversity in many of Africa’s remaining
wilderness areas and undermines security of nations and the livelihoods of
people.” Müller added: “Handing this aircraft over to the Tanzanian authorities
and FZS is an important cornerstone of our longstanding support for the Selous
Game Reserve and the adjacent communities.” “For a large area like the Selous
Game Reserve, one of the largest uninhabited protected areas of Africa, aerial
surveillance is vital,” said Minister Maghembe. He thanked the German
government for the support in countering the recent upsurge in poaching. “This
aircraft will also help the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority carrying out
wildlife and habitat monitoring in the Selous as one of Tanzania’s biodiversity
hotspots of global relevance,” he added. The group visited the Rufiji River in
the Selous Game Reserve to discuss the conservation challenges on-site. They
also met with representatives of the private sector to explore ways to combine
wildlife conservation and sustainable tourism. The German Ambassador Egon
Kochanke underlined that “The Selous Game Reserve is not only one of the
largest protected areas in Africa but also the centrepiece of the new Tanzania
Wildlife Authority.” The area has been
hit very hard by poachers:
Elephants in Selous Game Reserve will now be protected from increased illegal poaching
Between 2009 and 2014, the population of
approximately 45,000 elephants at that time has been decimated to approximately
15,000. Today, all of Tanzania is estimated to have about 45,000 elephants,
60percent less than in 2009. “Poaching is a severe threat to biodiversity,”
said Christ of Schenck, CEO of Frankfurt Zoological Society, “not only because
it can lead to local extinctions of targeted species like elephant and rhino,
but because their disappearance can harm the ecosystem altogether. Frankfurt
Zoological Society is committed to contribute to halting the deterioration of
the Selous.” In 1982, the Selous was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. Today, the Selous is regarded as a World Heritage Site ‘in danger’. By
UNESCO standards, extraction of mineral resources and large-scale land use
change are prohibited. “Now is the time to enhance protection of the area to
enable wildlife populations to regrow and to restore the secured status of the
World Heritage Site,“ says Schenck. The German Government, through the Ministry
for Cooperation and Development, has provided funding for the
acquisition of two Husky A-1C Aircraft to support the Tanzanian wildlife
authorities in countering the poaching threat and monitoring wildlife and
habitats. The Selous aircraft will be operated by Frankfurt Zoological Society
in close cooperation with TAWA. With aerial support, poacher camps and illegal
activities can be detected and the pilots can provide critical information to
ranger forces on the ground. The Husky is well suited for monitoring and
anti-poaching surveys as it operates at low heights and slow speeds. The other
Husky aircraft is being deployed in the Tanzanian Serengeti National Park. Since
2012 Germany has committed Euros 100 million for biodiversity protection and
rural development in Tanzania, including Euros 18 million for the Selous Game
Reserve. The Selous project is being implemented by FZS, KfW and GIZ in
collaboration with MNRT and TAWA. Frankfurt Zoological Society’s Selous
Conservation Project started in the early 1980s. The Selous is one of Africa’s
largest protected areas, with photographic tourism and hunting permitted in
designated parts of the area. The Selous covers about 50,000 km2 which is an
area larger than Switzerland and it is internationally recognized as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in danger. The Selous Game Reserve is a Miombo woodland
area with a high density and diversity of species. It is home to large
populations of wild dog, lion, hippo and buffalo. There are also important
populations of ungulates including sable antelope, Lichtenstein's hartebeest,
greater kudu, eland and Niassa wildebeest. In addition, there is also a large
number of Nile crocodile and over 430 species of birds.
No comments:
Post a Comment