Tanzania Finalises Wildlife Crime Unit

By Elisha Mayallah

Arusha — Tanzania conservation agencies were last week mentioned as part of the special Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) which is set to be established soon.

Tanzania minister of natural resources and tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghrmbe said the government of Tanzania, will involve involve experts from Tanzania Wildlife Authority (TAWA), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) and Tanzania Forest Services (TFS).

The agencies, according to the minister, will be working in collaboration with security organs from Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), the Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA), the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) as well as local and international conservation institutions and stakeholders.

The move came barely three weeks after the poachers gunned down a helicopter which was on a regular patrol in the Maswa Game Reserve on the southern part of Serengeti National Park, killing British national pilot Roger Gower. The incident was widely reported around the world.

So far nine people have been arrested in connection with the incident. "This is one of the measures taken by the government to scale up the war against poaching and the plundering of natural resources," said Prof. Maghembe.

"As a government, we are determined to eliminate the entire syndicate of poaching in this country. The latest incident shows us that poachers are well-prepared and we're also telling them that the war against them has just started," he stressed, adding that the proposed unit will be multi-sectoral in terms of its operation.

"The Crime Wildlife Unit will also be used to coordinate all small groups that are made in eight ecological systems. The idea of this is to track all movements of wildlife poaching, illegal harvesting and transportation of wildlife and forest resources," the Minister said.

Other government's strategies include speeding up the process of transforming the operation of wildlife conservation from civilian to paramilitary.

Prof. Maghembe also said: "The government is working on the possibilities of banning private people from owning firearms to reduce the increasing incidents of people to use arms in committing crimes."