The Tanzanian Government will use paramilitary force to protect wildlife and other natural resources in the country.
According to the country’s authorities, the paramilitary force will be comprised of all departments and agencies dealing with wildlife, forestry and other natural resources.
Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources, Jumanne Maghembe, announced the use of the paramilitary force to protect natural resources during the opening of a two-day meeting attended by natural resources officers in Morogoro town.
He blamed officials in the ministry for allowing illegal activities and poaching in game reserves, national parks and in protected areas.
A recent report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), indicated massive poaching activities in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve could wipe out the remaining Elephant populations in the reserve within six years. The report added that since 1976, Selous has lost an average of 2,500 elephants annually.
According to an elephant census conducted in 2014, only 15,217 elephants remain in the Selous ecosystem down from a population of 110,000 in the mid-1970s.
