The Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) has proposed the construction of a 53km tunnel between Klens Gate and Tabora B on the projected Arusha-Musoma highway to circumvent the disputed stretch across Serengeti National Park.
WCST executive committee members revealed this here after inspecting the areas where the proposed road is supposed to pass from Mto wa Mbu to Mugumu and the planned southern alternative route stretching from Mugumu via Bariadi, Lalago and Lake Eyasi to Mto wa Mbu.
The committee said the tunnel’s construction would serve the area a lot ecologically and economically, adding that the road would play a crucial role in improving the lives of millions of people most of whom are smallholder farmers.
“The two points (Klens Gate and Tabora B) are very close, which makes it possible to construct a tunnel,” William Bocco, a WCST board member, said.Should the government pick this choice, he said, it would make Serengeti National Park remain intact and the migration corridor of wildebeests would also remain without human interference.
“We hope that construction of the road through a tunnel will make wildlife safer than ever,” he stated.As for the costs of constructing the tunnel, Bocco, who is an engineer, said: “We need not compromise people’s development to conservation of Serengeti. So, the tunnel will solve the problem once and for all. I know there are countries which have managed to sdimilar facilities longer than the 53km one proposed.”
He cited the 1421-km tunnel stretching from Britain to France through the English Channel as an example.
“Through this tunnel the government will collect huge sums of money from vehicles and people crossing from one side of the area to another,” he stressed.Retired Judge Ernest Mwipopo, who is in the WCST executive committee, said the proposed southern route is too long and people in the northern zone have instead shown preference for the government-proposed route.
“This is very short compared to the southern route, which passes south of Lake Eyasi, about 628.3km,” he said.He added that the population in the southern route especially near Lake Eyasi valley is sparsely populated.
He explained that the solution to against the proposed Serengeti highway is to construct a tunnel between Klens Gate on the Loliondo side and Tabora B on the Serengeti District side.“I think this will also reduce travel time and transport costs for people wanting to go to Musoma and Arusha. In my thinking, the distance willl likely be reduced from the current 53km to 40km because the proposed tunnel will be straight,” he stated, calling on Tanzania National Park Authority (Tanapa) to start working on the idea.
“We have floated the idea to some MPs and most of them have agreed on the proposal. And we’re planning to meet with the President and advise him on this,” Reuben Naburi, a WCST senior executive committee member said.
Senapa chief park warden Mtahiko Mtango concurring with the idea to construct a tunnel at the two points, he said the alternative has no ecological concerns.
Mtango however expressed concern on the costs of construction which are likely to be very high.Earlier, minister for natural resources and tourism, Ezekiel Maige said the road would be constructed in two sections—the eastern tarmac stretch covering 214km from Mto wa Mbu to Loliondo and the western 117 stretch from Makutano-Natta to Mugumu.
In the government proposal the 53km within the park will remain a graded road.Efforts to reach Natural Resources and Tourism minister Ezekiel Maige for comments on the WCST proposal yesterday proved futile.
Last week, President Jakaya Kikwete said that there are no plans to tarmac the road across the world famous Serengeti National Park (Senapa) as claimed by local and foreign environmentalists.
Kikwete told the South African President, Jacob Zuma that Serengeti is a unique natural heritage to the nation, stressing that the government will never do anything to destroy this national jewel.He emphasised that Serengeti will remain economically viable as a tourist destination to the country and the northern regions of the country.
"Unfortunately our plans to link the people in this area by upgrading the road have been widely misunderstood," the President had noted.
Kikwete had said the proposed road would be constructed from Mto wa Mbu in Arusha Region to Mugumu in Mara Region, via Loliondo District, adding that the 53km portion cutting across the park would be left as a graded earth road.Local and international environment activists have protested against the Arusha-Musoma highway project, warning that it would affect wildlife migration because of increased traffic and changes that might be made to nature.
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