Posted on May, 19 2017

WWF statement in response to the Report of the Reactive Monitoring Mission to UNESCO Selous Game Reserve World Heritage site:
 
WWF welcomes the clear statement from the Tanzanian government through the Tanzanian Wildlife Authority that there will be no future mining in Selous Game Reserve. As of January 2017, there were 48 prospective mining concessions overlapping the Selous. These will now not be opened for exploration and no future ones will be granted.
 
WWF appreciates the joint work with the government and partners to deliver strong anti-poaching progress that has reduced the poaching of elephants and other wildlife.  WWF will continue these efforts taking a zero poaching approach to help recover the Selous’ elephant and black rhino populations.
 
However, WWF stresses that the Reserve, which is home to globally important populations of elephants, lions, hippos and African wild dogs, continues to face a number of threats and calls on the Tanzanian government to secure the Selous’ long-term future. Safeguarding Selous will not only protect its globally important wildlife but also the local communities that depend on the Reserve for their livelihoods.
 
Dr. Amani Ngusaru, WWF Tanzania Country Director, said: “The end of the threat of mining is great progress towards saving Selous World Heritage site. Mining concessions overlapped over six per cent of the reserve and would have severely impacted on its ecology. The IUCN’s report also rightly recognises the progress the government and its partners, including WWF, are making towards solving the critical poaching problem facing Selous.”
 
“However, the Reserve continues to face a number of significant threats. These include a large proposed hydropower scheme at the heart of the Selous, oil and gas exploration, and the threat of pollution from a uranium mine on its border. If decisive action isn’t taken to protect Selous now, we risk losing this incredible World Heritage site."
 
WWF highlights the proposed Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower project as a fundamental threat to the Selous. By creating the largest man-made reservoir in East Africa, the project would profoundly change both the landscape and ecosystems of the World Heritage site. The construction of this dam would conflict with the World Heritage Committee’s position on large dams within World Heritage sites. WWF supports the call for it to be permanently abandoned and asks for the Tanzanian government to develop an energy vision that excludes Stiegler’s Gorge.
 
Other serious threats to Selous’ future include an overlapping oil and gas concession to the west that directly threatens both the Reserve and an adjacent internationally protected wetland, the Kilombero Valley Floodplain Ramsar site; the inundation of part of the reserve from the Kidunda Dam reservoir; cattle grazing inside the Selous as well increasing poverty and inadequate benefits to communities adjacent to the Reserve.
 
ENDS
 
 
Notes to Editor
 
For further information, please contact:
Scott Edwards | WWF International | sedwards@wwfint.org | +44 7887 954116
 
Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest wilderness areas in Africa. The 50,000km² reserve is home to globally important populations of elephants, lions, hippos, and endangered African wild dogs and is of pivotal importance to these species.
 
It was once home to 110,000 elephants but industrial scale poaching resulted in a loss of almost 90% of the population in the last forty years. In 1982 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. However it was inscribed onto the World Heritage in Danger List in 2014 because of industrial scale poaching and industrial activities, such as mining, oil and gas development and a hydropower dam proposal, threatening the reserve.
 
The report is the write up of an IUCN mission to the Selous Game Reserve World Heritage site, United Republic of Tanzania in February 2017. Available here.
 
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries.  WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
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