The Government of Tanzania is planning a major commercial highway across the Serengeti National Park, linking the Lake Victoria area with eastern Tanzania, severing the important migration route for Wildebeest between the Serengeti and Masai Mara. It is concerned that the road will negatively affect biodiversity through increased road kills of large mammals and attendant scavengers, including vultures, which are facing extreme pressure outside Protected Areas. The Serengeti is thought to hold up to a third of the remaining populations of Ruppell’s vulture, a species that has seen recent massive declines in West Africa.
Of course the Tanzanian people have the right to expand their economy and increase their standards of living but pressure must be put on the Tanzanian government to undertake a full ecological impact assessment and consider the alternative routes to the south of the park.
You can support the RSPB campaign by writing a letter to Hon. Ms. Shamsa Salekea Mwangunga (MP) Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, here:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/campaignwithus/current/serengeti.asp
or sign up online here:
http://www.savetheserengeti.org/#axzz0x3imOsDa
Jim
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