Tanzania: can the country's booming eco-tourism sector be truly green? Tourist trips to developing countries is increasing by six per cent per year. Twenty per cent of these new tourists go to Africa, with Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania scooping up the majority. So what’s driving the trend? The answer is eco-tourism.
Ecotourism appeared as early as the 1960’s in Kenya, when hunters in search of game flocked to the savannas and forests, providing an economic reason for conservation. Since then, eco-tourism - happily minus hunting - has become the fastest growing sub-sector of the tourist industry. With an annual growth rate of between 10 and 15 per cent worldwide, it’s no wonder that the travel industry regards it as a sort of wonder pill. Working with locals Some see eco-tourism as a marketing ploy. Rob Barbour, of Afrika Afrika, runs four eco-camps in Tanzania. He says: ‘Promotion of ethical working practices has to come from within. Conserving wildlife The assistant manager, Farid, is proud to have been at the lodge for over four years.
NGO to build 25m/- dispensary for the Hadzabe. More than 25m/- will be spent on the construction of a dispensary in Kipamba Natural Forest at Munguli village in Iramba District, home to the Hadzabe people. Funds for the dispensary have been given by the US-based non-governmental organization, Outreach International - Africa.
The natural forest has been deliberately reserved for the habitation of the Hadzabe people. Speaking at the launch of the project, Outreach International – Africa vice-president Mike Kitwaka said the aim of the donation was to bring health services closer to the Hadzabe community. He said despite the Hadzabe tribe living in the reserve forest and depending on roots for food and medicine, they now need modern medicines to treat them after the forest had been destroyed by other tribes. “So many activities by other tribes have contributed to the destruction of the habitat of these people, activities such as tree-cutting, fires, agriculture as well as livestock keeping,” he said.
Tanzania: can the country's booming eco-tourism sector be truly green? Tanzanie, le pays en plein essort de l’écotourisme, est-il réellement vert ? | Tourisme Vert. De la participation locale à la conservation de la faune, les projets de la Tanzanie pour le tourisme vert montre comment les voyageurs responsables et les voyagistes peuvent améliorer la vie et les écosystèmes – mais il y a encore beaucoup à faire. Les voyages touristiques vers les pays en développement est en hausse de six pour cent par an.
Vingt pour cent de ces nouveaux touristes vont en Afrique, avec le Maroc, l’Égypte, l’Afrique du Sud, le Kenya et la Tanzanie ramassant la majorité du gâteau . Alors, quelle est la tendance? La réponse est l’éco-tourisme. L’écotourisme est apparue dès les années 1960 au Kenya, lorsque les chasseurs en quête de gibier ont afflué vers les savanes et les forêts, en fournissant une raison économique pour la conservation. Du travail avec les habitants Certains voient dans l’éco-tourisme comme stratégie de marketing. Rob Barbour, d’Afrika, gère quatre éco-camps en Tanzanie. Il dit: «Promotion de l’éthique des pratiques de travail a venir de l’intérieur. Mbulu elects first Hadzabe councillor.
By Adam Ihucha The Political Platform Reporter Arusha. An aboriginal man from one of Africa’s last hunter-gatherer tribes has won a representative seat in the most remote part of Mbulu District in northern Tanzania. Mr Naftal Zengu Kitandu, 55, took the seat of Eshkesh Ward in Southern Mbulu on a Civic United Front (CUF) ticket during last year’s General Election, becoming the first Hadzabe man to become a civic leader in Tanzania’s history. “This win is a great victory not only for me, but also for the entire Hadzabe community,” explained Mr Kitandu whose birthplace happened to be a natural-resource rich area of Yaeda Chini Village in one of the Manyara Region districts. Mr Kitandu was among the first eight Hadzabe boys to acquire ordinary secondary education way back in 1971, thanks to the directive from the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.
He was undermined in politics and was mocked, but he fought his way up without stopping to try, he recalled. Who are Hadzabe?