A U.S. environment expert has urged Tanzania to accept the World Bank’s offer to finance an alternative to a proposed major road project that conservation groups say threatens the Serengeti National Park, one of Africa’s largest and best wildlife reserves.
In a March 1 letter to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, U.S. professor John Adams warned that the African country risks losing foreign aid if it pushes through with the planned road project.
“Foreign aid relies on goodwill and is less likely if Tanzania is damaging its secure revenue base in tourism,” John Adams said in a letter, Business Daily reports.
The World Bank is offering to finance an alternative route for the proposed road to avoid it from cutting through the wildlife park. Conservation groups believe the road, once built, will hamper the annual wildlife migration.
“The World Bank is proposing alternatives that we believe will achieve Tanzania’s development objectives while preserving the unique character of the Serengeti as part of the world’s environmental heritage,” Reuters quotes John Murray McIntire, World Bank country head for Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda.
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