Serengeti er reddet – i denne omgang: Der bygges ikke en 2-sporet moderne asfaltvej, man fortsætter i stedet med en grusvej som nu – men det holdt hårdt
Controversial plans to build a tarmac road across the Serengeti National Park have been scrapped after warnings that it could devastate wildlife, BBC online writes Friday.
The Tanzanian government planned a two-lane highway across the park to connect Lake Victoria with coastal ports.
But studies showed it could seriously affect animals such as wildebeest (gnuer) and zebra, whose migration is regarded as among the wonders of the natural world. The government confirmed the road across the park will remain gravel (grus).
The Department of Natural Resources and Tourism says the 50 km section of road across the park will “continue to be managed mainly for tourism and administrative purposes, as it is now”.
The government is considering an alternative route for a major trade highway that would run to the south of the park.
This would avoid areas of high conservation value, and – although a longer route – would bring the opportunities afforded by a modern transport link to more people.
Last year, a group of scientists warned that the proposed road across the park could bring the number of wildebeest in the park, estimated at about 1,3 million, down to 300.000. Collisions between animals and traffic would be unavoidable, they said.
And with a corridor on either side of the road taken out of the hands of the park authorities and given to the highways agency, fencing would almost certainly result, blocking movement of the herds.
As the animals travel, they dump vast quantities of urine and dung across the land, fertilising plant growth, while the trampling of hooves also prevents bush from over-growing the grassland.
Environmental campaigners have welcomed the government’s decision. However, they warned that the region faces a number of other threats, including roads around the park and poaching.
Serengeti blev nationalpark for 60 år tilbage og udnævnt af FNs Organisation for Uddannelse, Videnskab og Kultur (UNESCO) til en del af Verdensarven for 30 år siden.
Se mere om den verdenskendte dyrepark på http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/156
