Killing lions means attack on our tourism future

**NGORONGORO: **THE weekend unfolded with deeply disturbing news as ten lions were found dead in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, one of Tanzania’s most celebrated wildlife destinations.

Preliminary findings indicate that poisoning may have caused their deaths, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) has launched a professional investigation to establish what happened and identify those responsible.

The incident is a grim reminder that our greatest tourism assets cannot be taken for granted.

As we wait for the investigation to be completed, we outright condemn the killing of the lions and state that deliberately poisoning wildlife, if confirmed, is unacceptable and must be dealt with firmly.

A lion is not merely another animal in our wildlife inventory.

It is one of the country’s most powerful tourism symbols. Visitors travel thousands of kilometres to Tanzania to experience wildlife in its natural habitat.

Lions are central to that experience, alongside the elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, wildebeest and other species that make the Serengeti-Ngorongoro ecosystem one of the world’s great wildlife destinations.

Ngorongoro itself is no ordinary tourist attraction. UNESCO recognises it as a World Heritage property of global importance because of its extraordinary landscape, biodiversity and concentration of wildlife. That is why the loss of 10 lions should concern the whole country.

Tanzania is working to strengthen its position as a leading international tourism destination which requires marketing, better infrastructure, improved air connectivity and investment. But none of these efforts can substitute for the wildlife that visitors come to see.

The senseless killing of wildlife therefore undermines the very foundation on which the tourism industry is built. There is also a wider lesson.

Ngorongoro is a multiple-use conservation area where wildlife conservation must coexist with the livelihoods of local communities, particularly pastoralists.

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UNESCO itself has stressed the need to balance sustainable livelihoods with wildlife protection, ecosystem management and tourism.

Where predators threaten livestock, communities must have effective, lawful ways of dealing with that conflict. Conservation cannot succeed by ignoring legitimate concerns about livelihoods.

Equally, retaliation through poisoning cannot be allowed to become an alternative to dialogue, compensation, prevention and effective wildlife management.

The authorities must therefore complete the investigation swiftly, establish the facts and, if criminal wrongdoing is confirmed, ensure that those responsible face the law.

We cannot tell the world that our wildlife is a priceless national asset while allowing the destruction of that asset to go unanswered.

Every lion matters. Every lion lost to an avoidable act of poisoning diminishes not only the ecosystem, but also the tourism economy and the international reputation that generations of Tanzanians h

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