Kenyan NGO stops ‘selfish’ Tanzania from driving a highway through world-renown Serengeti National Park.
The Kenya-based Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) went to the regional court based in Arusha to stop the Tanzanian government from constructing a superhighway through the pristine Serengeti National Park – the home of the wildebeest. The court agreed that the development was harmful to game and the ecosystem as a whole.
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ ruled that the development would infringe Articles 5(3)(c) which provides for the promotion of sustainable utilisation of the natural resources of the East African Community (EAC) members and the taking of measures that would effectively protect the natural environment of the region.
This piece of law provides for the promotion of sustainable utilization of the natural resources of the prtner states and the taking of measures that would effectively protect the natural environment.
According to analysts, the 53km superhighway had the potential of giving Tanzania the needed economic progress. It was to link to other highways outside the park that transport gold from around Lake Victoria, soda ash mined on Lake Magadi, and oil from Uganda.
But ANAW, represented by Wachi Benson and lawyer Saitabao Kanchory Mbalelo, felt that it would have led to the development of a commercial corridor within the park, which would have been detrimental to the ecosystem.
Serengeti is not just any park. It is a UNESCO Heritage site. It is the habitat for 1.3 million wildebeest that annually thunder across 2,100 kilometres of plains through Kenya and Tanzania. The wildebeest Migration is a spectacle to behold and has named among the Wonders of the World. The annual ritual brings in billions of shillings to the neighbouring nations’ tourism industry.
The Court also granted a permanent injunction restraining Tanzania from operationalizing the action of constructing or maintaining a road across the Serengeti National Park which would not have negative impacts to the environment and ecosystem in this world renown wildlife sanctuary.
The Court in its judgment said that the matter raises issues that are today the subject of wide debate across the World, including; environmental protection, sustainable development, environmental rule of Law and the role of the State in policy formulation in matters relating to the environment and natural resources. In addition added that the role of the Court in balancing its interpretation jurisdiction against the needs of ensuring that Partner States are not unduly hindered in their developmental programs.
The Court added that all these issues must however be looked at from the Common thread running through the matter in the need to protect the Serengeti ecosystem for the sake of future generations and whether the road project has potential for causing irreparable damages to the environment. Furthermore the Court in its findings held that according to the orders sought by the Applicants, it is proper to ensure that Tanzania as a Partner State stays within its obligations under the Treaty. The Court therefore ordered each party to pay their own costs because the litigation was in the wider public interest.
The EACJ is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Established in November 2001, the Court’s major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.
Given the court decision, Tanzanian government may be forced to look at the possibility of developing a “southern” route around the Serengeti to provide transport and development for western Tanzania. Reports indicate that the Tanzanian government was adamant to an offer by the German government to do a study of a southern route two years ago.
Immediately after the ruling, Josphat Ngonyo, ANAW’s Executive Director, said: “This was not a win for ANAW, not for our lawyer, not for Serengeti Watch, not for our expert witness, but for the millions of animals in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. It is a win for nature and God’s creation. Nature has won today.”
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