Wildlife researchers challenged to address climate change

By Lusekelo Philemon

7th December 2011


The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ezekiel Maige, has called on wildlife researchers to diversify research areas and priorities in order to take on board issues of climate change.

Maige was addressing the 8th Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (Tawiri) Scientific Conference, which was attended by wildlife researchers from different countries in Africa and the world at large.

The conference was held here under the theme: “Climate change: Challenges and opportunities towards sustainable wildlife conservation and development”.

“It is time for wildlife researchers to diversify your researchers rather than relying on traditional research areas and priorities,” he said, adding: “I understand that most long-term research works have concentrated on selected protected areas in the country, northern Tanzania in particular. And these studies have been mainly on some groups of animals or subjects.”

He also called on all wildlife scientists to ensure that less studied areas, such as the southern circuit including the Selous, Ruaha-Rungwa and Katavi ecosystems, are also given due attention in line with the Tanzania Wildlife Research Agenda. “This will contribute towards enhancing conservation of wildlife in these areas,” said Maige.

The minister called on all wildlife research scientists to invest in understanding the impacts of climate change on wildlife and development and in finding ways of mitigating such impacts in line with the theme of the conference.

For example, he queried: “Will climate change escalate human-wildlife conflict? Will climate change affect zoonotic disease transmission at the human-livestock-wildlife interface?

Which wildlife species are likely to be more vulnerable to climate change?” Maige further directed wildlife management authorities to allocate enough money for research activities carried-out by Tawiri for sustainable conservation of wildlife in the country.

The minister urged respective authorities charged with wildlife management to put in place measures to address climate change, including preparing for future calamities by establishing special endowment funds.

“The crisis will be taken as a wakeup call that forces us to be more strategic on spending the limited resources that are available on landscape conservation, instead of spending vast amounts on single species…decisions should be made basing on cost-benefit analysis of saving entire ecosystems and creating eco-friendly livelihood for communities in wildlife rich areas.”

Tawiri board chairman Prof Gabriel Mbassa expressed concern over the escalating impacts of climate change, saying: “The overall climate change is expected to have devastating effects on biodiversity, agriculture, glaciers and water supply, diseases, human migration and its cascading effects.” He asked researchers to use the forum to come up with resolutions for the bright future of the wildlife sector, which hasn’t been spared with the impacts of climate change in the country.

During the conference, the minister launched the 2010/2015 Tanzania Elephant Management Plan”. Tawiri’s director-general Dr Simon Mduma said the plan was meant to reduce human-elephant conflict as well as putting in place sustainable elephant management approaches.



SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN