Helen Byron managers the RSPB’s work to protect some of the most important wildlife sites in the world. We do this by supporting the work and campaigns of our BirdLife International partners. Here Helen gives us an insight into the progress made to safeguard the Serengeti – and wildlife sites don’t come much more significant than the Serengeti!
Things I never thought I would do....
...stand up immediately after the Tanzanian Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism and make a statement to a United Nations Convention meeting. But this is exactly what I found myself doing last Wednesday at the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris, when the Serengeti highway case was discussed.
Helen gives it large on screen and steps up for the Serengeti
As you will know from previous posts, we have been supporting our BirdLife Partner in Tanzania, Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST), in their campaign to reroute the highway from the proposed alignment through nearly 55km of the Serengeti National Park to a less damaging alternative one.
The case was on the agenda of the World Heritage meeting following a joint World Heritage Centre-IUCN monitoring mission to Serengeti last December. Having visited the site, driven the route of the proposed road and spoken to a number of stakeholders including WCST, the mission report concluded that the proposed road alignment should be rejected and that if a decision to build this road is taken, the Serengeti National park should be included on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
After the World Heritage Centre and IUCN introduced the agenda item to the meeting, Mr Ezekiel Maige, the Tanzania Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism took the floor and explained that in response to stakeholder concerns a longer stretch of the proposed road – both through and around the Serengeti national park would be constructed with gravel, not a metalled surface.
Amidst a lot of confusion amongst delegates as to what this brand new information would mean in practice I then got to take the floor. Until the last minute, it wasn’t clear that I would get the opportunity to speak, as NGO statements to the meeting are rare. I steeled myself, said the new information sounded promising but would obviously need investigation by WHC and IUCN.
I then presented our joint BirdLife International and Frankfurt Zoological Society statement recognising Tanzania’s desire to develop including its transport infrastructure, but calling on them to abandon the road across the Serengeti which could have disastrous consequences for the wildebeest migration and severe impacts on tourism. They should undertake a strategic environmental assessment to examine a range of alternatives including the potential southern road around the park.
The case was then adjourned for WHC and IUCN to consider the new information and I went to speak to the Tanzanian delegation to see if they had a written version of the new information.
They said NO.
But under pressure, the following day they did make a written statement to the meeting that an approximately 122 km stretch of the road through and near the Park would be gravel not a metalled surface, the road will be controlled by the National Park Authority and will be for the same level of traffic as currently ie mostly tourists, not commercial traffic. Also that they will seriously consider the southern alternative road (which avoids the park).
This sounds like a step in the right direction, and we are cautiously optimistic. However until a strategic environmental assessment is undertaken and a new alternative route is chosen for the commercial highway which completely avoids the Serengeti National park and ensures that the proposed gravel northern route will only be for tourist traffic, we cannot be sure that the Serengeti will be safe and we will continue to follow the case.
Let’s hope this is a first step in a positive direction that leads to a solution benefiting both people and wildlife.
If you’ve stepped up and added your voice to the call to save the Serengeti – thank you. We’ll keep you posted as the story unfolds...
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