Tanzania Plans for Serengeti Highway

Wednesday, June 23rd 2010

The government of Tanzania recently approved a major commercial truck highway across the Serengeti. The US$480 million highway is planned to link Arusha and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya through the Serengeti National Park, said Isidori Shirima, Arusha regional commissioner.

Conservation organizations have warned that the highway would be destructive to the Serengeti ecosystem, as it cuts across the path of ancient wildlife migration routes. The Frankfurt Zoological Society, which has been the main supporter of the Serengeti for the past fifty years, stated

"The entire Serengeti will change into a completely different landscape holding only a fraction of its species and losing its world-class tourism potential and its status as the world's most famous national park - an immense backlash against the goodwill and conservation achievements of Tanzania."

Responding to the threat, an online petition by travel operators and associations asks the government of Tanzania to stop the highway. It warns that, in addition to damaging a priceless World Heritage Site, it would damage Tanzania's tourist industry, jeopardizing billions of shillings in foreign exchange needed for economic development.

If you are interested in signing the petition please check the following web site: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_serengeti_highway/

The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region located in northwestern Tanzania and southern Kenya. It hosts the largest and longest overland migration in the world. Some two million wildebeest, zebras, and antelope make the annual trek each year between Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is widely regarded as the greatest wildlife spectacle on Earth, and the Serengeti National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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