The Germany parliament, the Bundestag, has raised concerns over the future of the Selous Game Reserve, the largest wildlife park in Africa, now facing a critical challenge to its survival after the government of Tanzania signed a contract to build a mega hydro-power project at Stiegler’s Gorge inside the park.
German East Africa was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of Tanzania.
Bundestag members had asked the German government to assist Tanzania to find alternative ways that would help this African nation to produce electricity outside the Selous Game Reserve, the wildest and largest wildlife sanctuary in Africa.
Members from parties forming the German coalition government said in a debate over a bill on the same subject that the envisaged mega hydro-power project will jeopardize the status of Selous Game Reserve as a World Heritage Site.
The bill was seconded by members from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU0 and Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Green Party under the Proposal by the Economic Cooperation Committee.
The resolution passed by the parties, had the Bundestag asking the German government to assist Tanzania in finding alternative ways of generating electricity without harming the environment under the Selous Game Reserve ecosystem.
Members of the Bundestag noted during the debate that the 2,100-megawatt hydropower project at Stiegler’s Gorge within the reserve will also put at risk the entire ecosystem of the Rufiji River, one of the big waterways of Africa.
ETN
