Various religious leaders involved in the
�Wildlife Pride Campaign� in a tourist van when they visited Tarangire
National park having the largest number of elephants to learn the
effects of elephant poaching which threatens the country of late. (File
Photo).
Dubbed ‘Wildlife Pride Campaign” the move is to fight against
poaching in the country. It involve local celebrities like former Miss
Tanzania Jacqueline Mengi, artists Ali Kiba, Vanessa Mdee and former
NBA player Hasheem Thabeet.
They will be joined by international celebrities who include
Jackie Chan, Yao Ming, Edward Norton, Prince William and David Beckham.
However WildAid and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) are the main
sponsors of the awareness campaign that intends to end poaching and
wildlife poaching or reduce in large amount the incidences.
Tanzania boasts 16 national parks — including Ruaha, Serengeti and
Tarangire — the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and 17 game reserves,
including the Selous. Yet despite ongoing conservation efforts, the
country is now poised to lose one of its most recognised and valued
resources: the African elephant. Growing affluence in Asia has produced
a new class of ivory consumers.
In the past five years, Tanzania has lost 60 percent of its
elephants; the population fell from an estimated 109,051 in 2009 to just
43,330 in 2014.12 Tanzania’s rhino population fell from 10,000 in 1970
to 12313 in 2014 and is now believed to number just 80 mainly because of
poaching for ivory, very large profits from this illegal activity are
made in China and other consumer nations, while Tanzanians are left to
bear the cost.
A recent WildAid/AWF survey of over 2,000 Tanzanians in both rural
and urban areas, found more than 79 percent of respondents said that it
would matter a great deal to them if elephants disappeared from Tanzania
and over 73 percent said that they associated wildlife with their
national identity and heritage.
“Tanzania has always been known for its large elephant herds and,
together with Botswana and Zimbabwe, is home to half of all of Africa’s
elephants” report said.
The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth over $10
billion (USD) per year and has drastically reduced many wildlife
populations around the world.
During the campaign all of them will deliver anti-poaching messages
in print and electronic media, billboards and videos in public spaces.
The aim is for the campaign to reach as many people as possible,
including those in rural areas.
At the official launch of the campaign in Dar es Salaam yesterday,
the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Lazaro Nyalandu, said
the government alone cannot manage to stop poaching and wildlife
trafficking without involving various people and institutions.
He said it will do everything to ensure that the country’s heritage
is preserved by developing all systems and preparing short as well as
long term strategies.
Said he: “Our elephants have been a great asset to this country in
many ways and the government is determined to stop their slaughter. But
we cannot do this alone; so we want to enlist the assistance of all
citizens in putting a stop to the theft of our national heritage”.
“We believe that efforts of religious leaders, envoys, celebrities
and international organisations in the fight against poaching in this
country will bring it to an end. I also commend the government of
China for stopping the trade in ivory products as one way of minimizing
the problem.”
He further said that through the cooperation, people will get the
message and understand the impact of killing elephants and wildlife
trafficking.
He told religious leaders that they have opportunities to educate
worshipers while celebrities will convey messages in line with their
positions.
Speaking during the function, the US Ambassador to Tanzania, Mark
Childress, said the problem of poaching in Tanzania and other African
countries is caused by conflicting information on the importance of
wildlife.
He added that in combating poaching it was important that its
symptoms and causes must be addressed. He added joint collaborative
efforts are needed to fight illegal ivory trade and the task should not
be left the government alone.
Ambassador called on tightened security across, and the government should build public awareness campaign in rural areas.
Chinese envoy Lu You Qing was impressed by steps taken by Tanzania to maintain wildlife development.
He pledged his country’s continued support to save the elephant
species from extinction. A recent report suggests that Tanzania is the
largest source of poached ivory in the world.
The Wildlife Campaign Ambassador, who is also the former Miss
Tanzania, Jacqueline Mengi, said she was happy to be among anti-poaching
ambassadors.
She said as a group they will ensure that the country’s heritage is
protected, noting: “When preparing this campaign I visited an elephant
orphanage centre in Nairobi. It was sad to see how baby elephants were
suffering as a result of losing their ‘parents’ as a result of poaching.
These animals have the right to live and not being killed.”
Jacqueline promised to sponsor the campaign adverts through IPP
Media outlets as her contribution to the anti-poaching campaign in the
country.
She called upon Tanzanians to convey the anti-poaching message in order to safeguard the country’s heritage.
Award-winning singer-songwriter Alikiba has become an Ambassador
for the campaign. "I'm honoured to lend any support that I can to this
effort to protect our wildlife", said Alikiba. "Our beautiful elephants
must be allowed to live - free and wild - instead of ending up as a
carving on somebody's coffee table."
African Inland Church Bishop Charles Salala said in its efforts to
curb poaching the government should prepare long term strategies to
teach the future generation about the importance of wildlife for the
country’s development.
“Children should be taught the subject from nursery schools to make
them love wildlife. This will help in ending poaching incidences as a
short term strategy like the current one involving various people”,
Bishop Salala said.
The Sheikh of Dar es Salaam Region, Alhad Mussa Salum, noted: “We
don’t always agree on everything, but we all agree that poaching and
smuggling ivory are completely wrong and we join the government in this
fight.”
Africa Wildlife Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr Patrick
Bergin, said Tanzania had lost 60 per cent of its elephants in the past
six years, mainly because of poaching for ivory.
“The bad thing is that very big profits from this illegal activity
are made in China and other countries while Tanzanians are left to bear
the cost,” he lamented.
Commented WildAid Chief Executive Officer Peter Knights: “The
poaching of elephants is literally theft from all Tanzanians and future
generations.” He advised all media houses to participate in the campaign
as the assistance of everyone is needed in efforts to get rid of it.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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