A tour guide from the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), Mr Ibrahim Kassim, told reporters in Morogoro that a research has indicated that an animal at the park is killed every day by vehicles passing through the road.
?The report indicates that about 360 animals die every year as a result of the road kills,? he said, adding that vehicles through the highway are threatening the free movement of animals crossing the road from one side to another.
Mr Kassim, who was commenting on the predicament of animals at the park, pointed out that the government plans to divert the road?s direction to avoid vehicle passage through the park, adding that implementation of the plan was taking too long since it was initiated.
?It is now ten years since the plan was initiated,? he lamented, pointing other challenges posed by the vehicles as disturbances due to noise and pollution.
Other challenges are littering by passengers. ?Each day, over 3,000 vehicles pass through the highway ? the vehicles always leave litter, including plastic containers, causing pollution, which is harmful to animals especially to those animals that happen to eat the plastic materials,? he noted.
He pointed out that a ton of litter is collected along the road at the park every month. The presence of the road at the park has also led to change of the behavioural pattern of animals that spend some time along the road waiting for food particles as thrown by passengers.
Speaking shortly after the tour, the Director of Serengeti Preservation Foundation, Mr Meyasi Mollel, appealed to journalists to embark on writing on issues concerning wildlife conservation to help the government and the public ?to recognise the importance of preservation of wildlife animals and other natural resources for the country?s good future.?
? Mr Mollel added that it was high time journalists recognised the importance of conservation by reporting more on various issues concerning wildlife to help create public awareness.
He appealed to the government and other stakeholders to facilitate the journalists to report more on conservation. ?I believe that if you educate a journalist, you are educating the public ? so it is good for other stakeholders to facilitate the journalists willing to write issues concerning conservation to create public awareness on nature?s importance,? he said.
The tour was facilitated by the PSF in order to help journalists explore more on the conservation of wild animals in the country. Meanwhile, a huge inferno erupted over the weekend in some areas around Mount Meru within the Arusha National Park, with initial reports indicating that it was started by illegal honey harvesters in forests inside the park.
TANAPA said in a statement yesterday that around 200 villagers surrounding Olosinoni and Kisimiri villagers and the authority?s employees have managed to contain the fire from spreading.
?No report of harm has been reported from villagers and tourists who visit the area to climb Mount Meru; additional precaution measures are being undertaken to ensure the fire does not harm people and impinge on tourism activities in the park,? read part of the statement.
The authority went on to warn against illegal entry in the reserved area for unlawful activities, which in turn destroy the environment as well as water catchment areas.
?In efforts to control the inferno further, TANAPA and the villagers have beefed up human resources to ensure the fire does not spread to other areas,? the statement said.
The extent of damages caused by the fire is yet to be known, but the authority assured the public that a statement on the exact damage will be issued when the inferno is fully put out.
By ANNE ROBI, Tanzania Daily News
