When news broke last week about the canceled plans for a highway through the Serengeti in northern Tanzania, we reached out to Abercrombie & Kent, a tour operator with a strong presence in Eastern Africa, to get their thoughts.
Jorie Butler Kent, vice chair of Abercrombie & Kent, was at Sanctuary Kusini in the Serengeti, supervising some renovation work. She sent in the following statement:
“The most recent position statement from the government of Tanzania regarding the proposed road provides a broad outline of a plan to balance conservation with the need for development. But the details of implementation will be critical to protecting the vast herds of wildebeest and zebra which migrate through the northern part of the Serengeti. A paved road will still be built up to Loliondo on the east. There will be a 58 km buffer zone through the Loliondo Game Controlled Area and a 12 km buffer zone on the east at Ikorongo Game Reserve. The buffer zone is a new development and this is very positive. The plan calls for the road to be managed by the Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and we are hopeful that they will enforce normal park rules for the unpaved section of the road in the northern Serengeti, including charging park entry fees, prohibiting commercial through traffic and closing the road at sunset.”