Awarding Dr Jane Goodall laudable, but we still have work to do

There was a genuine sense of relief as it appears that until now Dr Goodall seemed an international conservation expert well known in Tanzania but not really part of ourselves,  which has been rectified somewhat. The other aspect was a bit of trepidation especially on the part of avowed conservationists, as there are still some sharp differences of emphasis between what Dr Goodall is laying out for us, and what we think.

Comparing the remarks made by Dr Goodall in the certificate award ceremony where the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof. Jumanne Maghembe officiated, and the remarks the minister made, readers could see the difference between the scientific and conservation approach, and the wider, general tourism perspective. While both these ways of looking at the work that Dr Goodall has conducted and the future outlook are legitimate, it is clear that the UK scientist who has been in Tanzania most of her adult life (since 1960) still needs a heir with zeal and devotion to conservation as such. She also issued sharp words of caution of what it will take to maintain a sustainable ecological environment for chimpanzees.

Part of the work that Dr Goodall has conducted and changed global appreciation of primates is documenting day to day behavior of primates and ascertaining that their group life in many ways approximates human life. Her research pointed out that chimpanzees can make tools, that they often hug one another, kiss and tickle each other like humans, which helped scientists building up theories of human evolution, in the view that chimpanzees are semi-developed humans, a view that is perhaps the most cherished by the UK scientist who is in many respects one of us. She was in her younger days wife of the late Dr Derek Bryceson, a veteran cabinet minister here but evidently she retained her UK citizenship, an aspect of her life that tends to be deemphasized.

In her remarks after being given that certificate of appreciation, Dr Goodall said that recognition at the local level, on top of numerous international awards, gives her courage to continue campaigning for wildlife protection. She identified vital needs for this objective to be achieved as the resilience of nature and strong human spirit that kept her motivated to inspire younger people to take up the task of defending environmental protection. “The survival of chimpanzees requires a dramatic change in how we think about the natural world, as well as advances in science and technology,” she told the gathering, while the minister underlined the tourism aspect.

In good measure, there are good students of Dr Goodall found in the whole of the Interlacustrine region, having the continuation of her work at heart, but there are crucial areas of concern, as Dr Goodall herself still sounds skeptical on the task, despite enormous influence she wields. To what extent shall her work remain in one piece in her absence, if the specifically scientific and to an extent ecological issues are submerged by tourism concerns per se? Or are changes already taking place to remove worries she refers to - as to the radical change we need in viewing nature?