quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson

Terrible, but sadly unavoidable, given recent events.

Great, forward-thinking men established the Selous, and made sure that hunting in the Selous kept the animals who live there safe and flourishing.

Now, their efforts, over many decades, have been undermined, right before our eyes, by criminals and blundering idiots, in fewer than ten years!

How true. You have a way of putting a book into a few sentences.

If you have never seen the Selous, I am sorry you missed it. I speak of it as if it is a building that has just burned down, because it is on fire in a sense. The Elephant are gone, never to return as long as the Chinaman still has his foot in the door, and he will for, at least, our grandchildren’s lifetime.

Someone mentioned hoping it’s not a domino effect. I don’t think you understand. This is one of the dominos. The first one fell a long, long time ago.

I sat in the SCI convention with (name removed), one of Pasanisi PH’s. In 2012 or ‘13 He told me that their most remote block, at the Southern tip of the Selous, the one where they shoot the biggest Elephant, the one that they never have poaching problems, has had some significant Elephant poaching. All the blocks, despite Eric’s anti poaching efforts were hit hard.

Two years later I talked to him again and he said it was getting hard to find a legal Elephant.

If there is someone who took care of his blocks, it was Eric.

Sometimes, you just can’t out-ski an avalanche.

As an agent, as an avid hunter of Africa, I have seen this day coming. It’s no surprise. It’s the day I knew was coming. The day I knew we would wake up and have to pull the plug on grandpa Tanzania.

They wrote their own death sentence by raising prices in 2007. By leasing out their minerals to the Chinaman. Lining the pockets of their leaders with bribes. The stupidity and ignorance of the local people taking a quick buck for today and ignoring tomorrow.

Goodbye Tanzania.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I'm really surprised they're allowed to do this shit to a World heritage site......

Who is going to stop them, the almighty UN??

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

If there is someone who took care of his blocks, it was Eric.

Sometimes, you just can’t out-ski an avalanche.

+1

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson

Terrible, but sadly unavoidable, given recent events.

Great, forward-thinking men established the Selous, and made sure that hunting in the Selous kept the animals who live there safe and flourishing.

Now, their efforts, over many decades, have been undermined, right before our eyes, by criminals and blundering idiots, in fewer than ten years!

How true. You have a way of putting a book into a few sentences.

If you have never seen the Selous, I am sorry you missed it. I speak of it as if it is a building that has just burned down, because it is on fire in a sense. The Elephant are gone, never to return as long as the Chinaman still has his foot in the door, and he will for, at least, our grandchildren’s lifetime.

Someone mentioned hoping it’s not a domino effect. I don’t think you understand. This is one of the dominos. The first one fell a long, long time ago.

I sat in the SCI convention with (name removed), one of Pasanisi PH’s. In 2012 or ‘13 He told me that their most remote block, at the Southern tip of the Selous, the one where they shoot the biggest Elephant, the one that they never have poaching problems, has had some significant Elephant poaching. All the blocks, despite Eric’s anti poaching efforts were hit hard.

Two years later I talked to him again and he said it was getting hard to find a legal Elephant.

If there is someone who took care of his blocks, it was Eric.

Sometimes, you just can’t out-ski an avalanche.

As an agent, as an avid hunter of Africa, I have seen this day coming. It’s no surprise. It’s the day I knew was coming. The day I knew we would wake up and have to pull the plug on grandpa Tanzania.

They wrote their own death sentence by raising prices in 2007. By leasing out their minerals to the Chinaman. Lining the pockets of their leaders with bribes. The stupidity and ignorance of the local people taking a quick buck for today and ignoring tomorrow.

Goodbye Tanzania.

Tomorrow does not exists in Africa!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I'm really surprised they're allowed to do this shit to a World heritage site......

Who is going to stop them, the almighty UN??

Gotta say that made me chuckle.

I like most people have a very low opinion of the UN itself but UNESCO must pay Tz a very significant amount every year & I'm surprised they haven't told the Govt that if they destroy a World Heritage Site they won't get paid for preserving it............. But then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised! lol!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson

Terrible, but sadly unavoidable, given recent events.

Great, forward-thinking men established the Selous, and made sure that hunting in the Selous kept the animals who live there safe and flourishing.

Now, their efforts, over many decades, have been undermined, right before our eyes, by criminals and blundering idiots, in fewer than ten years!

How true. You have a way of putting a book into a few sentences.

If you have never seen the Selous, I am sorry you missed it. I speak of it as if it is a building that has just burned down, because it is on fire in a sense. The Elephant are gone, never to return as long as the Chinaman still has his foot in the door, and he will for, at least, our grandchildren’s lifetime.

Someone mentioned hoping it’s not a domino effect. I don’t think you understand. This is one of the dominos. The first one fell a long, long time ago.

I sat in the SCI convention with (name removed), one of Pasanisi PH’s. In 2012 or ‘13 He told me that their most remote block, at the Southern tip of the Selous, the one where they shoot the biggest Elephant, the one that they never have poaching problems, has had some significant Elephant poaching. All the blocks, despite Eric’s anti poaching efforts were hit hard.

Two years later I talked to him again and he said it was getting hard to find a legal Elephant.

If there is someone who took care of his blocks, it was Eric.

Sometimes, you just can’t out-ski an avalanche.

As an agent, as an avid hunter of Africa, I have seen this day coming. It’s no surprise. It’s the day I knew was coming. The day I knew we would wake up and have to pull the plug on grandpa Tanzania.

They wrote their own death sentence by raising prices in 2007. By leasing out their minerals to the Chinaman. Lining the pockets of their leaders with bribes. The stupidity and ignorance of the local people taking a quick buck for today and ignoring tomorrow.

Goodbye Tanzania.

Tomorrow does not exists in Africa!

However we have seen African countries rise and fall and recently witnessed the revival of Mozambique and Uganda. Hopefully Zimbabwe is on the up so it is not all doom and gloom.

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.

3. Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to weeks. 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 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.

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 suspect that ele poaching in the Selous has been facilitated to lessen public outcry when the dam construction begins.

Without the massive herds to dislocate and cause outcry...the dam building will likely go unnoticed by the rest of the world.

If this were not the case...more resources would have been allocated to stop the poaching.

quote:

Originally posted by AilsaWheels:
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.

3. Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to weeks. 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 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.

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.

Good point!

What I find interesting is how quick we are to point out how horrible and corrupt the TZ government is from the handling of the Selous, yet somehow overlook the fact the only State in the US with a larger refuge is Alaska (Arctic Wildlife Refuge being one) and it has just been opened to oil exploration.

Is the TZ government corrupt? Sure!

Is the wildlife in TZ being handled properly? No!

We have the same issues a lot closer to home as well. The painful reality is that the more people you add to this earth, the less room there is left for wildlife. Is it always handled properly for the preservation of the wildlife, NOWHERE on this earth.

Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should promote for proper conservation and that involves hunting at the forefront but lets not judge other countries as if we have the shining track record of wildlife conservation.

quote:

Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to weeks. 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 establish a first world lifestyle in your home after the sun goes down without electricity? How do......

There are no blackouts today that run the periods you have indicated; those were in the distant past and were taken care of once the Mtera Dam was constructed.

However, this source of hydro-electricity is currently not operating at full capacity, this being due in large part to lack of preventive maintenance; silting, servicing of turbines, etc. by the relevant authorities.

There have never been, to the best of my recollection any power cut that extended over 24 hours and that was only because lightning took out a transformer and left an entire residential area in the dark for almost 24 hours.

Most residential plots, shops and offices did not however remain in the dark like fruit bats as almost everyone has a gen-set ranging from a mere 8KVA to 120 KVA.

Several years ago the entire grid collapsed for almost an entire day due to one of the main sub-stations packing up - again, lack of maintenance not insufficient juice produced by the dam.

Another sore point whose repercussions produced an excessive build up of silt is the illegal and rampant diverting of water from the dam to irrigate farming projects.

When TANESCO require to do some maintenance work on various points the cutoff dates and periods are publicized and are however not longer than 10 hours at the very most.

What I fail to understand is that in spite of sitting on some of the largest natural gas deposits in Africa, discovered at least 40 years ago (Songo Songo - Blocker Inc.) we have yet to harness this gas to run turbines and produce cheap electricity!

quote:

What I fail to understand is that in spite of sitting on some of the largest natural gas deposits in Africa, discovered at least 40 years ago (Songo Songo - Blocker Inc.) we have yet to harness this gas to run turbines and produce cheap electricity!

That is a point that I failed to understand while living there as well. Why are they waiting? Get that gas and their electrical infrastructure problem is basically solved...

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Blackouts are a common occurrence in Tanzania currently. They may run from hours to weeks. 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 establish a first world lifestyle in your home after the sun goes down without electricity? How do......

There are no blackouts today that run the periods you have indicated; those were in the distant past and were taken care of once the Mtera Dam was constructed.

However, this source of hydro-electricity is currently not operating at full capacity, this being due in large part to lack of preventive maintenance; silting, servicing of turbines, etc. by the relevant authorities.

There have never been, to the best of my recollection any power cut that extended over 24 hours and that was only because lightning took out a transformer and left an entire residential area in the dark for almost 24 hours.

Most residential plots, shops and offices did not however remain in the dark like fruit bats as almost everyone has a gen-set ranging from a mere 8KVA to 120 KVA.

Several years ago the entire grid collapsed for almost an entire day due to one of the main sub-stations packing up - again, lack of maintenance not insufficient juice produced by the dam.

Another sore point whose repercussions produced an excessive build up of silt is the illegal and rampant diverting of water from the dam to irrigate farming projects.

When TANESCO require to do some maintenance work on various points the cutoff dates and periods are publicized and are however not longer than 10 hours at the very most.

What I fail to understand is that in spite of sitting on some of the largest natural gas deposits in Africa, discovered at least 40 years ago (Songo Songo - Blocker Inc.) we have yet to harness this gas to run turbines and produce cheap electricity!

Tanesco treats you much better than they treat us.

My wording was poor. I shouldn't have used the word weeks. In the last eight years I probably haven't gone without power for more than a week at a time while in country. As recently as 2015-2016 we dealt with apx. 5 days in a row without power. (When the power comes on for 30 minutes and goes back off a half dozen times over a 5 day period, I consider that the power is off, as does my freezer. I am sure Tanesco counts it differently) The Tanesco "outage" report is also a complete fabrication. At least as it relates to us. We can go without power and an outage is not shown in their system.

I do agree with you that Mtera is run poorly and lacks proper maintenance. Also the upstream rice projects and the 500,000-2,500,000 cattle that were run on the Usangu and caused major damage to the swamps ability to feed the Ruaha year round, caused a lowering of the lake behind Mtera, also cutting back the hydro power. Do you think removing the pastorialists from the Usangu has helped the water level in the reservoir?

Most businesses of any size and whites do have gen-sets. This doesn't alleviate the lack of electricity that 95+ percent of Tanzanian's deal with when the power is off. Business that are efficient running with power from the grid, may not be efficient when running on diesel/petrol.

Tanzania does have significant natural gas. Not sure what the economics of setting up a natural gas power plant in Tanzania would be, or why it has not happened. Here is to hoping that things improve for all.

quote:

Originally posted by tanz2007:

quote:

What I fail to understand is that in spite of sitting on some of the largest natural gas deposits in Africa, discovered at least 40 years ago (Songo Songo - Blocker Inc.) we have yet to harness this gas to run turbines and produce cheap electricity!

That is a point that I failed to understand while living there as well. Why are they waiting? Get that gas and their electrical infrastructure problem is basically solved...

There are existing natural gas power plants, but there won't be any further natural gas fired power plants (as there should be) because Tanesco owes PanAfrican Energy over $100m, with that figure steadily growing. In fairness, Tanesco owes everyone money. The fact is, there is a ton of potential power generation in country- but the government is a roadblock to that. Just recently an American guy got several SPPA's signed for small solar projects. These are the first new PPAs signed since 2016. In that time the surrounding countries have been going crazy with a host of energy projects. There are countless energy companies, investors and DFI's keen on financing and installing medium and large scale solar, biomass, and wind projects. But without the government buying into these- nothing happens. The current government has its priority areas, and often they don't make sense, i.e. a focus on the pipeline (with very little long term economic benefit) while totally sidelining an LNG Plant (huge long term benefit). Despite there being many better power generation options out there, the TZ Gov has made Stieglers Gorge a priority, so that is going to be the focus for the foreseeable future.

quote:

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.

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.

+1

https://www.businessdailyafric...38-x4nes2/index.html



Tanzania asks AfDB to fund hydropower plant in heritage site

MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2018 9:53

Dar es Salaam

Tanzania has approached the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance a 2,100-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric plant in a World Heritage site renowned for its animal population, despite concerns from conservationists.

The country considers the project at Stiegler’s Gorge in the Unesco-designated Selous Game Reserve to be vital in its bid to diversify its energy mix and end chronic electricity shortages.

The project would more than double the country’s power generation capacity.



But critics say securing financing for it could prove difficult because construction of a dam on a major river that runs through the Selous Game Reserve could affect wildlife and their habitats downstream.

Tanzania’s finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday that President John Magufuli, who is personally pushing the long-delayed project, made the financing request to AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina during talks in Tanzania’s administrative capital Dodoma over the weekend.

The AfDB confirmed that it was reviewing Magufuli’s request but did not say how much the project would cost.



Very committed

“President Magufuli is very committed to ensure that the country industrialises, but you cannot industrialise unless you have access to electricity,” Adesina told journalists on Saturday after his talks with the president.

“The president is very keen to talk to us about the Stiegler’s Gorge project ... he mentioned that to us and we are going to be looking at that with him and the government, but we are also very keen to look at other alternative sources of energy.”

Adesina said the AfDB plans to work with the Tanzanian government to develop integrated power projects with the private sector.

Tanzania’s Finance and Planning Minister Philip Mpango said on Saturday that East Africa’s third-biggest economy was also seeking a $200 million loan from the AfDB to build a new airport in Dodoma, and additional financing for the construction of roads.

The government invited bids in August for the Stiegler’s Gorge project and hopes construction work will begin as early as July.

Covering 50,000 sq km, the Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest protected areas in Africa, according to Unesco.

It is known for its elephants, black rhinos and giraffes, among many other species.

God help the wildlife, because the Tanzanian government won't.

Not to mention that, at this rate, they can't count on much international tourist hunting revenue to repay their loans.

quote:

Together with a cheque for his re-election!

Absolutely. After the last democrat-marxist in the White House....

I love the comment that it is known for its black rhino.

According to Paddy Curtis...there were a few still there as late as 2000. Sad what has happened to the Selous.

Ledvm:

Yes, also as late as 2005 rhino tracks were seen in LU5... very sad indeed.