Selous To Be Cut In Half

[spike.t]

https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/-...t-into-two/1840340-5212898-xwjwrxz/index.html

https://www.dw.com/en/foundation-st...sial-hydroelectric-dam-in-tanzania/a-49265447

 

[Philip Glass]

Wow what a shame. They will take the best part and run it over with tourists!

 

[BRICKBURN]

 

[Brent in Az]

Somebody slap Magufuli upside the head.

 

[BnC 04]

Damn shame!

 

[thi9elsp]

The government is trying to deflect the issue of flooding a large portion of the Selous with the new dam and displacing people, villages and habitat by saying they are reducing hunting. 643 sq miles of habitat lost. Almost criminal.

 

[Mort Hill]

On a continent where population is exploding, I am amazed that any blocks of land the size of the Selous remained. The development of the dam, its infrastructure and ultimate urbanization will change the landscape forever.

 

[Wheels]

As hunters, our initial response is anger that a dam will be built across the gorge. I wonder what the average Tanzanian thinks about the dam project:

1. Look at a map and see how much of Tanzania is devoted to wildlife. It is a significant portion. According to the U.N., Tanzania will be the sixth most populated country in the world in the year 2100. This in an area the size of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, and just as arid. Without water and electrical planning, how is this going to work.

2. At 1,350 square kilometers, the lake behind the Stiegler Gorge Dam will cover 1/40 of the Selous' 54,600 square kilometers. 1,350 square kilometers is a significant amount of land, but just a small portion of the Selous. Yes, the lake behind the dam will cover some of the prettiest parts of the Selous, but Stiegler's Gorge is certainly not Hetch Hetchy. The reservoir behind the dam will be less than a quarter the size of Kariba. Has Kariba destroyed the wildlife of the Zambezi valley.

3. Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to a week or more. How do you support industry or business without a steady flow of electricity? How do you grow out of being a third world country without electricity? How do you show school kids how a computer works? How does the hospital take care of your family members? How do you cook without cutting down a tree? How do you establish a first world lifestyle in your home after the sun goes down without electricity? How do......


It is sad that the elephants of the Selous have been decimated. It is sad that the major operator and protector of the Selous is gone. It is sad that the Tanzania government has made many poor decisions regarding it's wildlife. It is sad that USFW has stuck it's nose into Tanzania's business.

But, in the best interest of the majority of Tanzanian's, is it a bad thing that a dam is being built across the Rufiji.

I certainly have mixed emotions over this, but my prayer is that Tanzania will be able to take care of it's wildlife and wild places as it deals with it's burgeoning population.

 

[Brent in Az]

As hunters, our initial response is anger that a dam will be built across the gorge. I wonder what the average Tanzanian thinks about the dam project:

1. Look at a map and see how much of Tanzania is devoted to wildlife. It is a significant portion. According to the U.N., Tanzania will be the sixth most populated country in the world in the year 2100. This in an area the size of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, and just as arid. Without water and electrical planning, how is this going to work.

2. At 1,350 square kilometers, the lake behind the Stiegler Gorge Dam will cover 1/40 of the Selous' 54,600 square kilometers. 1,350 square kilometers is a significant amount of land, but just a small portion of the Selous. Yes, the lake behind the dam will cover some of the prettiest parts of the Selous, but Stiegler's Gorge is certainly not Hetch Hetchy. The reservoir behind the dam will be less than a quarter the size of Kariba. Has Kariba destroyed the wildlife of the Zambezi valley.

3. Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to a week or more. How do you support industry or business without a steady flow of electricity? How do you grow out of being a third world country without electricity? How do you show school kids how a computer works? How does the hospital take care of your family members? How do you cook without cutting down a tree? How do you establish a first world lifestyle in your home after the sun goes down without electricity? How do......


It is sad that the elephants of the Selous have been decimated. It is sad that the major operator and protector of the Selous is gone. It is sad that the Tanzania government has made many poor decisions regarding it's wildlife. It is sad that USFW has stuck it's nose into Tanzania's business.

But, in the best interest of the majority of Tanzanian's, is it a bad thing that a dam is being built across the Rufiji.

I certainly have mixed emotions over this, but my prayer is that Tanzania will be able to take care of it's wildlife and wild places as it deals with it's burgeoning population.

There you go, bringing logic into the argument

I wonder if Frederick Courteney Selous's grave will end up under water? Isn't he buried along that river?

 

[flat8]

As hunters, our initial response is anger that a dam will be built across the gorge. I wonder what the average Tanzanian thinks about the dam project:

1. Look at a map and see how much of Tanzania is devoted to wildlife. It is a significant portion. According to the U.N., Tanzania will be the sixth most populated country in the world in the year 2100. This in an area the size of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, and just as arid. Without water and electrical planning, how is this going to work.

2. At 1,350 square kilometers, the lake behind the Stiegler Gorge Dam will cover 1/40 of the Selous' 54,600 square kilometers. 1,350 square kilometers is a significant amount of land, but just a small portion of the Selous. Yes, the lake behind the dam will cover some of the prettiest parts of the Selous, but Stiegler's Gorge is certainly not Hetch Hetchy. The reservoir behind the dam will be less than a quarter the size of Kariba. Has Kariba destroyed the wildlife of the Zambezi valley.

3. Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to a week or more. How do you support industry or business without a steady flow of electricity? How do you grow out of being a third world country without electricity? How do you show school kids how a computer works? How does the hospital take care of your family members? How do you cook without cutting down a tree? How do you establish a first world lifestyle in your home after the sun goes down without electricity? How do......


It is sad that the elephants of the Selous have been decimated. It is sad that the major operator and protector of the Selous is gone. It is sad that the Tanzania government has made many poor decisions regarding it's wildlife. It is sad that USFW has stuck it's nose into Tanzania's business.

But, in the best interest of the majority of Tanzanian's, is it a bad thing that a dam is being built across the Rufiji.

I certainly have mixed emotions over this, but my prayer is that Tanzania will be able to take care of it's wildlife and wild places as it deals with it's burgeoning population.

Agree on all counts. It does make me sad to see habitat lost, but Africa isn’t a theme park. Her people deserve a shot at economic advancement as well.

 

[Newboomer]

Doesn't make any sense to me. They whine about habitat loss, decreasing numbers of animals and they pull a stunt like this. Talk about habitat loss and displacing game. If they don't vastly improve the grid this fiasco isn't going to amount to much. Reminds me of a similar situation at home. Some two bit politician convinced the legislature that by flooding the Dead River Valley it would do wonders for the power supply. It didn't. It would become a mecca for tourists and fishermen. It didn't. About all it accomplished was destroying a pretty little village I called home and displacing the population.

 

[Wheels]

There you go, bringing logic into the argument

I wonder if Frederick Courteney Selous's grave will end up under water? Isn't he buried along that river?

I don't know if the grave will be under the reservoir or not. Good question. Perhaps someone else can chime in.


This is a copy of a photo a friend took.

 

[enysse]

@Wheels has a lot of good arguments! Water is very important along with power. Believe me, we make a lot of decisions in the USA that don’t favor wildlife either. Still I understand what everyone is saying they aren’t building more “wild places”.

 

[Hank2211]

They whine about habitat loss, decreasing numbers of animals and they pull a stunt like this. Talk about habitat loss and displacing game

Not sure who "they " are in this, but I can tell you it is very unlikely that the average Tanzanian whines about habitat loss or decreasing numbers of animals. On the contrary, they are likely whining about how much of their country is set aside for wildlife at their expense.

I certainly have mixed emotions over this, but my prayer is that Tanzania will be able to take care of it's wildlife and wild places as it deals with it's burgeoning population.

I think you are 100% correct here. The best way to ensure that the people of Tanzania, or any other African country, cares about habitat and wildlife is to improve their economic circumstances. Hard to care about elephants when your kids have to study by candlelight because you have no power. There is little doubt that more habitat will be lost in the process, but if economic improvement is done intelligently, without corruption, both the game and the people should be able to benefit. But you will not be able to improve the wildlife situation at the expense of the local population.

 

[Brent in Az]

The Selous is a big place, but cutting it in half seems pretty extreme.
I guess I am a little confused by the Presidents statement, that there will still be 47 hunting blocks to generate revenue.

Is hunting still going to be allowed in this national park he is creating? If not, there will only be approx 50% of the existing blocks available for hunting.

The far northern section of the Selous already has areas set aside as tourism only blocks.

 

[spike.t]

From how I read it there will be no hunting in the new Nat park. The hunting blocks will be in what remains of the selous. I have been told that the first round of new auctions for blocks in the selous was a total mess and non were taken... Not sure what happened and would be interesting to hear from tanzania operators who could give better /correct information....

 

[spike.t]

First time ever went to Africa to hunt or anything was in 1989 oct/nov and we fly camped just below stieglers gorge. We were the first people in the area to hunt since the hunting ban in place then was lifted... it was amazing area..the lion pride in the area numbered over 30....we counted them running in all directions when we drove up to check on a hippo carcass I had shot the day before... only few bits of bone left...... Warthog would trot towards the cruiser looking bit confused wondering what it was......massive buff herds over a thousand animals..... Glad we got to see it back then....also I think selous grave is on a hill as it was pointed out when we drove around.... Also where the fighting had occurred during WW1

 

[Wheels]

Mikumi National Park seems to have a steady flow of visitors due to the highway running through the park. I don't know the number, but probably 90+% of the visitors stay on the north side of the highway since it is flatter, more open and game densities are greater. The southern part of the park doesn't see many people.

If the new Nyerere NP runs from the river north to the southern boundary of Mikumi, there may not be many visitors to the new park, at least not until new infrastructure is put in place to accommodate them.

The auction for what I presume were Pasanisi's Selous blocks,( http://**NOT**PERMITTED**.com/largest-safari-operator-calls-it-quits-in-tanzania/ ) were put out right before the hunting season started. Outfitters had no time to do their due diligence, much less market the properties for the 2019 year.

Since Tanzania raised hunting fees around 2006, it seems that outfitters have continued to turn in more and more blocks. The elephant and lion issues of both Tanzania and USFW have added greatly to this.

A major long term concern is, if revenue can not be generated by the land for hunting or photo tourism, over time the population is going to demand access to the underutilized land for their own purposes.

 

[thi9elsp]

@Wheels I agree with all of your points. My issue is with the president deflecting habitat loss from the dam by having 'hunting' take the hit. Also, in doing a quick search I found this article on downstream impacts of the dam to the flood plain, habitat and people. So, it's not just the impact of the flooding and lake that is created.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...on_the_lakes_of_the_Lower_Rufiji_Tanzania#pf4

I also think about the impact of the dams built in the US and the loss of the habitat at the Sea of Cortez from the lack of flow from the Colorado River. So, I then think, "Are there alternatives to building a dam?" Could wind, solar or nuclear be an option? Much of Africa is going straight wireless. So, why not jump past other countries' approaches (dams) and go straight to alternatives? Such as this in Kenya?

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/22/the-biggest-wind-farm-in-africa-is-officially-up-and-running.html

 

[Brent in Az]

I wonder if there is something much deeper to this issue.?