Laudable display in ‘selling’ Destination Tanzania, but…

Some might wonder whether there is anything in that – asking whether that is not, after all, what the respective minister and the women and men under his command are there for.

But the minister has singularly active doing what he is both supposed and expected to do. And, so, why not salute the team?

A reader referring to himself as a business, finance and economics expert once emailed The Guardian remarks whose importance and relevance we quickly acknowledged.

The expert explained how the government and private stakeholders have, time and again, joined forces in identifying and formalising national parks and wildlife reserves until the number of wildlife sanctuaries recognised by Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) has shot up to over twenty.

He said this was done largely so as to boost national income through proceeds from tourism but wondered whether the industry necessarily promised a higher income than any other in the country.

He might have had a point at least in the sense that having better legislation and using better expertise in managing our wildlife resources might serve a much better purpose than merely turning more and more chunks of land into game reserves or national parks.

The aim would be to benefit the larger society, including farmers, pastoralists and industrialists, instead of merely boosting the government’s coffers through tourism.

Where practicable, some wildlife sanctuaries could be exclusively for wild animals as others accommodated both wildlife conservation and human activities.

Tanzania has decades of experience in tourism and knows both the advantages such a mix can offer as well as the challenges it can pose. But, as recommended by the particular expert, Tanzania would do well to consider capitalising more on such coexistence than it has done thus far in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

There is a catch here, of course, as global wildlife conservation agencies and the likes of UNESCO might not take very kindly to moves of the kind.

But we already have laws and regulations governing how   villages   surrounding   wildlife sanctuaries ought to help in protecting wild animals without compromising the security of people.

We have no doubt whatsoever that the relevant authorities recognise that tourism is not just about keeping wild animals in the same area where tourists can to go to see, photograph or occasionally shoot them. Equally important is creatively embracing the coexistence of animals and people.

Therefore, the authorities must continue seeing the need to make sure that the protection of wildlife does not mean placing a greater premium on animal life than on human life.

We can bet that the respective ministry has this permanently at the back of its mind as it goes around touting Tanzania as an ideal destination for local and foreign tourists.

Also, having a national park or game reserve in each region is not necessarily a sure means of boosting tourism revenues, considering recent developments in the industry such as crop tourism, culture tourism, and food tourism.