Latest remarks attributed to a senior official with the National Development Corporation have right away elevated the spectrum of more de-campaigning of the republic of Tanzania in worldwide tourism markets, as among the country’s crucial resources – Lake Natron flats in which the whole population of well-known flamingos in East Africa is nesting, is once more under impending danger.
‘The previous EIA was clear’ added a regular source based in Arusha before going on to say that This Lake Natron eco system can’t uphold soda ash mining plus processing without a considerable affecting the breeding patterns as well as the breeding grounds of these flamingos. What’s changed ever since then? Were happy accomplices, also known as consultants, selected to tailor write a new report that will serve exactly the interests of investors plus NDC? TATA pulled out a couple of years back when it turned out to be clear that they were to be marked as a international environmental pariah once they had gone onward and constructed a plant. Currently the soda ash market is low internationally and over the border in neighboring Kenya, it has Magadi Soda mothballed one of their plants. Whichever company is selected by NDC will be right away put under international spotlight and the pressure will increase on their shareholders to halt their management from carrying out the greatest environmental crimes. We can’t risk the dreaded extinction of these flamingos and then be held responsible as a nation to be accountable for ruining their breeding area for profit. I do believe the evening years of the presidency of Kikwete will most likely see some other hare brained strategies such as this floated however we shall strongly oppose them and also expose them.
Six foreign companies have supposedly expressed interest in taking part in the tendering and, despite calming tones from NDC honchos, the international de-campaigning against them will begin as soon as the successful bidder is announced. TATA pulled out since they understood what tremendous damage to their international reputation any participation in the construction of Lake Natron soda-ash plant would do. Any internationally active company, perhaps besides Chinese who actually don’t care about environmental concerns in distant countries, will have to be concerned about an unfolding campaign. This will reach the degree of the campaign against Shell once they polluted the Gulf of Mexico due to the fact that destroying these breeding grounds of the famous flamingos will be an international concern. NDC could possibly say the location isn’t in the immediate breeding area however any kind of amount of increased activity, noisy machinery, trucks moving in and out, will be damaging to the breeding and could drive these flamingos away permanently. What then?’ asked another source from Arusha, saying that the issue might have to be forwarded to court, along with the vague reputation of the local judiciary, this may as well find itself in the East African Court of Justice just like the Serengeti-Highway case.
