Roads as a Threat to the Serengeti Ecosystem

In an opinion letter to Nature (September 2010), Dobsonet al. (2010) oppose the planned road through north-ern Tanzania that crosses Serengeti National Park (SNP)(Fig. 1). They contend that the road will jeopardize theSerengeti ecosystem by interrupting the wildebeest (Con-nochaetes taurinus) migratory corridor. This opinion issupported by other scientists using mathematical models(Holdo et al. 2011). However, all arguments presentedagainst the project have been questioned (Homewoodet al. 2010). As has often been the case in the conserva-tion of African natural resources, some scientists presentviews that do not account for other key components ofconservation: economic growth, reduction of poverty,improvement of quality of life, and social well-being. Asscientists working in Serengeti, we believe that the pub-lished reports about the Serengeti road mislead the worldabout its potential effects on the ecosystem

Citation

Fyumagwa, R., Gereta, E., Hassan, S., Kideghesho, J.R., Kohi, E.M., Keyyu, J., Magige, F., Mfunda, I.M., Mwakatobe, A., Ntalwila, J. and Nyahongo, J.W., 2013. Roads as a threat to the Serengeti ecosystem. Conservation Biology, 27(5), pp.1122-1125.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/2525

Collections

Department of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation

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