Covid 19 and Conservation in Tanzania
Covid 19 and Conservation in Tanzania: Following the global pandemic, tourism operations came to a standstill. The fact that the tourism activities were halted, in one way or the other, hampered the conservation efforts, and this didn’t only affect the tourism industry but also the natural environment and the local communities, especially those that depend on conservation for their livelihood. Today, we explore the best effects COVID-19 has had on conservation in Tanzania. We can say that COVID-19 affected much of nature’s conservation, and this makes the safari experience so much more wonderful and interesting.
It is important to understand that the tourism sector has been destroyed by the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving no one in the national parks outside of Tanzania. It may initially seem nice to have fewer game viewing vehicles in the parks so that wildlife has more time and room to “breathe.” However, vacant parks provide poachers with greater opportunities to conduct their activities. Additionally, a decline in tourism results in lower operating budgets for anti-poaching teams. Additionally, a lot of individuals have lost their jobs in the tourism sector, which leaves communities vulnerable. People who labor frequently provide for huge extended families. Locals may turn to the bush to feed their families if they have no money to support them.
Most likely, when you hear the word “poaching,” you picture rhinos and elephants being killed for their horns and tusks, which are then sold illegally for astronomical sums of money. Three of the five rhino species present globally are now classified as Critically Endangered, which means they have a significant risk of going extinct due to this type of poaching. However, there is a less well-known but no less destructive form of poaching. Usually, the bushmeat poachers target wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, and eland for the trading and eating of their meat, concentrating on less endangered but no less significant animals. Animals are unlawfully hunted by bushmeat poachers in protected areas so that their meat can be sold on the local market.
Bushmeat poachers have long been active in the Serengeti, especially in the more isolated regions that are less visited by tourists. To catch animals, the poachers set up wire snares in the underbrush. However, the traps are not selective; what was intended for a small antelope may ensnare a lion, a leopard, or even an elephant. The snares are placed strategically to catch animals according to their body height. All these incidences become common during COVID-19 because the public’s awareness of the conservation and the movement of law enforcement officers becomes low.
Several thousand animals are killed for bush meat each year in the Serengeti National Park and its environs. Even though this type of poaching does not garner as much public attention, it has a significant impact on the Serengeti’s delicate environment and is equally as detrimental as other types of poaching. We feel that we must safeguard these ecosystems. Since nature is the foundation of everything, we view it as the most valuable treasure in the entire world. However, hunting harms humans as well as animals. Recent research on microbial communities revealed that bush meat in the Serengeti Ecosystem contains harmful diseases. This indicates how eating bush meat may contribute to the development of diseases in Tanzania and offers a possible threat to the country’s population of bush meat eaters.
By visiting them, you support the preservation of wildlife in Tanzania’s national parks. However, even if you are now unable to come to Tanzania, you can still make a difference: The Serengeti De-Snaring Project is a collaborative conservation effort between the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Serengeti National Park (SENAPA), Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), and other regional tour operators. Tanzania-Experience has consistently supported this project. Teams of ex-poachers are employed by the project to patrol the park, dismantling snares and releasing captured animals. Since the start of the project in 2017, the teams have taken out approximately 41,000 snares and saved the lives of hundreds of animals.
Tanzanian nature preservation requires our help now more than ever. In comparison to January and February 2020, the number of snares discovered more than doubled in March and April, going from 212 to 556 snares. Different Tanzania companies and other tour operators started the “Serengeti Mission Possible” to raise money for the De-Snaring Programme to boost the teams in the field: As a response to the potential for increased poaching in the deserted parks, this fundraising effort creates jobs and guarantees there are anti-poaching forces on the ground. The more people we have on the ground to safeguard the Serengeti species, the more money we can raise. Please enjoy the best safari experience and always, where possible, make sure that you give back to the conservation which has supported most of the people and their livelihoods.
