Serengeti National Park
Controversy brewing over airport plans in Greater Serengeti
Old plans, brought down by committed conservationists and angry area residents a few years ago, seem to rear the ugly head again, as efforts to build a major airport in the Serengeti district region are apparently once again being tabled.
Whatever ulterior motives the promoters may have could neither then nor now be established with certainty, but suspicion is well advised when dealing with such grandstanding.
But what more level headed and well informed individuals from Tanzania have pointed out to eTN is the fact that there are international airports between Arusha and Moshi (Kilimanjaro International) and in Mwanza at Lake Victoria offering enough spare capacity for international flights into the country for years to come.
What appears to make greater sense is to improve, in particular, the Mwanza airport and use it as a springboard into the Serengeti for tourism purposes with smaller light aircraft suitable to fly into airstrips near the main lodges, safari camps and resorts.
By spending a fraction of the cost of a new major airport on the modernization and expansion of Mwanza’s airport one could let go of the new airport plans, which could potentially disrupt the great migration from the Serengeti into the Masai Mara and rob the tourism industry of a globally acknowledged attraction second to none.
The plans of Grumeti Reserves to build a 4.2-kilometer runway in the middle of nowhere near Mugumu reminds this columnist of a similar scheme in Uganda, where harebrained project promoters, largely considered unsuitable, proposed to build a Free Trade Zone and major airport near Masaka. This too fell foul of public complaints and threats of legal cases by conservationists, which could have tied the promoters in court action for a decade or longer.
What East Africa needs are sustainable development projects, benefiting the population with job opportunities and the country with export earnings in foreign exchange, and not “white elephants,” nor “homelands” for cults as has been rumored in some similar cases.
Comments
I hope the project is not undertaken as happened before. Serenegti is atractive du to the least environment threatning activity on the region.
Everything must be done to deter this project as less costly and environment friendly aternatives can be implemented with good and sustainable results for the region.
Dear Sirs,
what is 'al' on about, he is wasting time and space with nothing to say. the other comment is very good and makes a lot of sense. international airport in the park area, what scheme is this to destroy such attractions.
Yours faithfully
Mukasa Fred. M
Blah blah blah, media at its un-investigative journalism? what is 4.2 km of runway in a massive Serengeti National Park? do you know Serengeti is so big that Mwanza and Arusha are so far to be considered near to Grumeti by the way there is management plan and any project can not go ahed without EIA. So please stop this unbiased blah blah. Please let we scientist conduct our work and then challenge the outcome for that case EIA and EMP. I know you won't post this as usual !
It appears to me that Grumeti Reserves has failed to think this idea through, and in any case, they have made very little effort so far to even make their case to the public.
It would benefit the country, and certainly also the image of Grumeti, if it made its plans open for public scrutiny and debate. Recent events in Loliondo are a good reminder, that companies need to embed their investments in local society, rather than seeking mere 'official approval' often obtained through shortcuts.
Thanks to Wolfgang for bringing this up.
Rinus van Klinken,
SNV Tanzania
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