Angellah Kairuki, the Natural Resources and Tourism minister, made this observation at the first annual wildlife corridor conference at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center (JNICC) yesterday.
She said that where lives are lost, the government does not compensate for death but offers consolation, urging conservators and other authorities to work together to address the rising incidences of invasions of wild animals in villages.
The two days conference will see scientists, researchers, conservators and ministry officials set to discuss ways of restoring wildlife corridors in various conservation areas.
Invasions are more frequent where people have encroached into animal movement corridors used as passages one reserve to another in search of prey, grass, mineral licks or in the course of breeding, she stated.
A report tabled at the conference asserts that 61 wildlife corridors are in use at present, with two of the vital connectivity passages listed in the Government Gazette.
Dr Julius Keyyu, operational director at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), said that 41 listed passages are on the verge of disappearance owing to increasing agro-habitat infringements.
The corridor restoration advisory committee has listed 20 corridors for priority in restoration owing to their biodiversity importance, while the minister asked that villages near corridors and other reserved areas be placed under acute land use planning supervision.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) aided the restoration of seven wildlife corridors in the country through participatory approach by empowering local communities to that effect.
Threatened connectivity routes are Kwakuchinja corridor linking Tarangire and Manyara national parks, the Tarangire to Simanjiro plains said to be vital dispersal areas for Tarangire wildlife, the Kigosi Moyowosi – Uvinza corridor connecting the conservation complex with Ugalla reserved area
Others include the Selous to Udzungwa corridor linking the game reserve with the southern mountain range, along with the Pemba Channel Conservation Area (PECCA), a marine corridor off the island.
There is also the Mahale Park to Katavi connection and the Amani to Nilo corridor, described as a patch of forest linking Amani and the Nilo forest reserves near Tanga city.
Gazetted corridors are the Kitendeni corridor linking Longido and West Kilimanjaro and Mpanga to Kipengere corridor, said to be decrepit despite being gazetted, he stated.
Contributors urged that wildlife corridors be gazetted, in a path breaking conference bringing together local conservation and research entities as well as experts from USAID, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS)
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