Environmental Feature By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.

The Tanzanian government decision and plan to build a highway road linking up its northern towns of Arusha and Musoma through the Serengeti National Game Park has sparked off world wide vehement opposition by wildlife consrvati9nist and environmentalists.

Reported these columns a week ago, the project is expected to cause a big rift between the country and its donor and development partners among the Western nations and the United States as well as in other countries of the world.

The country’s development partners are said to be up in arms and have warned Dar Es Salaam that the planned new highway road through the Serengeti Park if implemented will disrupt the wildebeest annual migration and thus damaging the country’s tourism dependent economy.

The same international conservationist groups had successfully thwarted the government of Tanzania previously earmarked joint plan with its neighboring Uganda to construct the now abandoned Tanga-Musoma rail line to ease landlocked Uganda ease access the sea rout and outlet for its exports and imports.

The rail line was expected to be much a shorter route to the currently much under-used Tanzanian Indian Ocean coastal port of Tanga, and could be much shorter that routing Ugandan goods and cargoes through the Kenyan ports of Mombasa and Dar EDs Salaam.

The rail line plan which was worked out between the late Presidents Julius Nyerere and the late Pres Apollo Milton Obote and was later endorsed by President Yoweri Museveni was shelved a decade agof9ollowing protracted moppositi9nb by the environmentalist and conservationist groups from allover the world. These groups had expressed fear that with trains passing through the world famous Serengeti wildlife sanctuary.

He Serengeti National Game Park, which is the largest in the region and housed thousands of wild animal species stretches from the Tanzania’s Northern town of Arusha and winding up on the shore of Lake Victoria in Musoma region. The spirited argument put forward by these groups was that the noisy coming out from the trains engine could, grossly interfere with the natural habitatsm9of the wild animals in the park.

A face book page posted under the heading “stop the Serengeti Highway “has generated thousands of petition signatures in the last two weeks.

The world-wide campaign against this multimillion dollar project has further been propelled by a New York Times blogger Olivia Judson, who was quoted this week by the Nairobi weekly, the EASTAFRICAN as lamenting that that the proposed road will damage Tanzania’s record of conservation.

Expressing bewilderment as to why the road has been cho9sen, the New York Times blogger had noted that the Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is “Well known for his interest in nature.

‘Just last moth, the blogger wrote, the President had personally greeted and welcomed six block rhinos fl9wn into the Serengeti National Game Park from South Africa and Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve,’ a statement by the Arusha Regional Commissioner Isidori Shirima says

However, there has been a three-year silent protest by these activists including the Tanzania National Parks Authority {tanapa} against interference with wildebeest annual migration, which has become the center of attractions for tourists from all over the world for its spectacular phenomenon.

According to the Arusha Regional Commissioner, the government of Tanzania deemed the proposed 480 km Arusha-Musoma tarmac road would be of good socio-economic significance for Tanapa.

Of the project total cost USD 260 million will cover the Arusha-Serengeti section and USD 220 million for Serengeti-Musoma segment.

D.Kakoko the regional manager for Tanzania Road Agency was quoted last week by the local media as saying that the actual construction work on the new highway would commence in early 2012,while feasibility studies are expected to be completed before the end of this year.

Some of the activists are sad to have been alarmed by the new road’s expected potential impact have note that it enjoys the support of local communities through which it would pass. And a few Times readers commenting on the Judson’s blog posting argued that the new road is essential and crucial to Tanzania’s development and should not be opposed by well-off outsiders.

Traders and travelers from the densely populated areas to be served by the proposed road must be currently more than 418km to the south to skirt the protected Serengeti ,an environmental website acknowledges.

A spokesman of the Tanzanian National Parks Authority [Tanapa}Pascal Shelutete,was quoted in a recent UK daily telegraph story in defense of the project.”This new road will bring great benefits to the economy of this cut-off part of the country and ease the movement of people and goods.

“No big project of the scale would be contemplated without a thorough feasibility study, and it shows that there will be no impact on the animals migration.”

He noted that only unpaved 40-mile stretch of the two-lane road’s480km will pass through the Serengeti.

But that may be enough t0 disrupt the annual movement of tens of thousands of wildebeest between the Mara and Serengeti watering grounds, the wildlife advocates say.

The new road will also opened opportunities for poaching and increase the risk of transmitting diseases to wildebeest from domesticated livestock transported through the park, “they argue.

The entire ecosystem of the Serengeti, which is of great economic as well as environmental importance to Tanzania, could suffer negative consequence if the wildebeest migration does not occur, the activist add.

The northern route newly approved by the government has previously been rejected on the e environmental grounds,’ The Times blogger points out.

Elsewhere in Holland an expert in wildebeest movement who is a lecturer in one of that country’s universities said he as concerned about the prospect of cutting off one side of Serengeti National Game Park from the other.

Dr.Grant Hopradt said in a comment,” there is obvious concern of creating a physical barrier. Wildebeest have e no problem crossing roads, but there is nothing elsewhere in conservation with this high capacity for traffic, he told a newspaper in the UKJ.

But by the end of last week an online petition has started a great against the proposed road, which has gathered over 2000signaturs around the world.

The DAILY TEEGRAPH of the UK reported in part that the Maasai Mara, which borders the Serengeti would also be affected as 1.8 million wildebeest and 800,00 zebras and the lions, hyenas, cheetahs and wild dogs that stall there are eventually moving the two areas.

More than 100,000 tourists visit the Maasai Mara during the peak migration months between July and October.

Critics, however, say the new commercial highway will cut through the key migration routes used by the animals and as such could permanently change the natural wonders.

The government of Tanzania this month approved then new road project linking its northern towns of Musoma and Arusha, which will com as a considerable relief to traders and travelers.

Top tourist officials in the neighboring Kenya said they were also worried and concerned about the new road, but were waiting to see what will happen.” We are waiting for the details while hoping the authorities has thoroughly investigated the positive alternatives.

Ends