Africa

Tanzania’s conservation vs development battle

By The World ⋅ August 24, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment
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Can wildebeests and trucks coexist? That’s the question at the heart of today’s Geoquiz. The wildebeest is an odd-looking antelope that lives in East Africa. Hundreds of thousands of them migrate every year through a protected area in northern Tanzania.Now the Tanzanian government wants to build a road through the region. Opponents say it would disrupt the wildebeest migration and threaten the entire ecosystem.

So, what’s the national park that’s home to all these wildebeests?

Geo Answer:

…and the answer is Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. The Serengeti is home to some of the last great herds of migrating animals… including hundreds of thousands of wildebeests. That’s great for nature lovers and tour operators. But there’s a downside. Most of the region has no roads and that’s bad news for some remote communities. Now the Tanzanian government has a controversial plan to build a road through the park. Benedict Moran has our report. (Photos: Benedict Moran)

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Discussion

4 comments for “Tanzania’s conservation vs development battle”

  • Boyd Norton

    This report failed to mention that there is a viable alternative to this highway, a route to the south of the park that would completely bypass the Serengeti ecosystem. Moreover, this southern route would provide economic benefit to 5 times more people than the northern route. The source for this information is the Frankfurt Zoological Society that did an economic study of this.

  • Pam Heeszel

    Visiting this area is on my bucket list. Please, pretty please, don’t let there be a road going through the middle of the Serengeti when I get there. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. Its the wildest of wild areas and thats what makes it beautiful, mysterious, uncivilized and precious.

  • http://www.serengeti-wildlife.com Uwe Skrzypczak

    Thanks for the report …
    The savannah of the Serengeti has been the fount of life for man and beast since ancient times, and is quite possibly the ancestral “Garden of Eden” that is so firmly anchored in our mythology and our human subconscious.
    The destruction of the Serengeti would not only mean the end of a wildlife paradise on Earth, but also the death of an important part of our human identity. The Olduvai Gorge in the southern Serengeti is known throughout the world as the “Cradle of Mankind”….
    more http://www.serengeti-wildlife.com/stop_the_serengeti_highway_english.php

  • Virgilia Bertini

    Thank you for your report. It was most informative. I have visited this area several times and I think constructing a road through the Serengeti would be horrible. We have so few areas of our beloved “Earth” that is not violated. Lets keep this one sacred and the way it was meant to be. thanks