The Serengeti Shall Not Die
Earlier in the week I brought you the wonderful news that the Gola Forest in Sierra Leone has been given National Park status. On the other side of Africa, in Tanzania, one of the most iconic National Parks is facing worrying times. A proposed road across the northern part of the Serengeti threatens to sever the annual migration of 1.8 million wildebeest and antelope. The ecology of the park is intimately linked to the migration so disrupting it will change the nature of the park.
The Frankfurt Zoological Society – who have a long and deep relationship with the Serengeti – have calculated that the road could slash numbers of wildebeest from 1.3 million to 200,000.
There is an alternative (there almost always is) and Tanzania is coming under huge pressure both from campaigns at home and across the world. Saturday 19 March has been established as International Serengeti Day by Serengeti Watch. The day should act as a focus for renewed efforts to persuade the Tanzania Government to make the right choice – to select a route for a new road that avoids severing one of the largest migrations on earth and damaging the iconic Serengeti.
We are supporting the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (the BirdLife International partner in Tanzania) and this where you can step up to help the campaign – you can write to the Tanzanian Government, this is an important moment in the campaign and every voice is important. If this is a step you would like to take – click here for more details.
If you’ve already contacted the Tanzanian Government – thank you for stepping up for nature.
Follow me on twitter.