'No more elephants in decade'

Tanzania is bound to lose all her elephants in 10 years given Africa’s rate of poaching that sees 15 of them being killed every minute by the people in search for their precious tusks, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Lazaro Nyalandu has revealed.

Addressing representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) yesterday, the minister said despite the decrease in elephant poaching this year, there was still a need for collective worldwide efforts to overcome the illegal wildlife trade.

 “This ongoing illegal trade will result in the extinction o f this species by 2025,” said Nyalandu at the meeting a meeting that also involved development partners in conservation.

He said that decline in wildlife population especially rhinos and elephants is due to poaching attributed to raising demand for ivory, exacerbated by poverty and inadequate infrastructure in protected areas.

The minister also cited short of tangible wildlife benefits for rural communities responsible for preservation and lack of sophisticated technologies in concealing illegal traffickers as major setbacks in dealing with poaching.

However, he said despite this challenge a number of achievements has been realized by the ministry in the past three years.

According to him, the number of the arrested poachers has increased from 1,529 in 2012 to 1,711 last year thanks to tightened security that saw 73,619 patrols in 2012 to 125,124 in last year in which 5,547 pieces and 16,888.36 kilograms of raw ivory and 1,171 pieces and 56.15kg of worked ivory were seized.

He said ivory seizure outside the country believed to originate from Tanzania destined for Hong Kong, China and Malaysia during the period included 1,947 pieces and 5,937.3kgs in which 244 people were arrested in connection with the smuggling.

Speaking about status of conservation in Tanzania, Minister Nyalandu said the country faces poaching crisis where major ecosystems for instance Selous and Mikumi national parks elephant population fell from 38,975 in 2009 to 13,084 last year.

He said elephants in Serengeti Mara ecosystem has increased from 2,058 in 1986 to 7,535 last year.

Meanwhile, the minister expressed concerns over the increase in charcoal demand at an annual rate of 10 per cent, saying  it is a challenge facing environmental protection and an apparent danger to wild life.

 “Charcoal consumption countrywide account for 1.4 million tons per year while Dar es Salaam alone that uses 40,000 bags per day accounts for about half of the total domestic consumption,” he said.

But presenting their views on how the government could end poaching and illegal wildlife trade, several commentators have said there was a need to provide more awareness to the public.

Francis Kiwanga from Foundation for Civil Society advised the government burn the seized elephant tusks to ashes in the same manner as in the neighbouring Kenya since the sale would encourage poaching.

However, in a quick rejoinder, the minister said that President Jakaya Kikwete has recently said while in London that the seized ivory would not be traded any more but preserved in selected areas.

He said currently discussions are underway with the British government to make ivory stock evaluation and DNA tests in order to have an appropriate system to keep them.

BY FRANK AMAN- Guardian

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World Malaria Day 2015: Invest in the future. Defeat malaria

On World Malaria Day 2015, the World Health Organization is calling for high-level commitment to the vision of a world free of malaria. The theme, set by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, is Invest in the future: Defeat malaria. This reflects the ambitious goals and targets set out in a draft post-2015 strategy to be presented to the World Health Assembly in May. The new strategy aims to reduce malaria cases and deaths by 90% by 2030 from current levels. Four countries have been certified free of malaria in the last decade and the post-2015 strategy sets the goal of eliminating the disease from a further 35 countries by 2030.

While huge gains in the fight against malaria have been made in recent years, the disease still has a devastating impact on people’s health and livelihoods around the world, particularly in Africa, where it kills almost half a million children under 5 each year.

Effective tools to prevent and treat malaria already exist, but more funds are urgently required to make them available to the people who need them and to combat emerging drug and insecticide resistance.

World Malaria Day is a chance to highlight the advances that have already been made in malaria prevention and control, and to commit to continued investment and action to accelerate progress against this deadly disease.

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16 Million/ - Donation to Improve Maternity Services in Mtwara

OPHIR Energy, an oil and gas exploration company operating in Mtwara Region has donated 16m/- to Benedictine Sisters' Shangani Dispensary.

Presenting a cheque to the dispensary administration, Ophir's Non-Executive Director Vivien Gibney said the money was meant to support improvement of maternity ward.

"Ophir recognises the importance of supporting community work, such as that of the improvement of maternity ward, which will benefit Mtwara Municipality," noted Ms Gibney.

She added that it was not the first time the company had provided support to the Benedictine Sisters, as it had done so previously in 2010 and 2012, in line with its corporate social responsibility in Mtwara.

"Ophir supported you in the past and we have witnessed how carefully you spent money that we gave you. In 2010, several Ophir employees and contractors gave generously to this dispensary, followed by November 2012 donation of 16m/- from the Ophir board to assist the Sisters in providing pre and postnatal care for women in Mtwara Region," she explained.

Ms Gibney said the Company was pleased to realise that despite many challenges the maternity ward faced due to lack of medical equipment and resources, the sisters had spent the money carefully to ensure sustainable support for many women they lovingly cared for every day.

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The power to change begins with you

Humanity is well aware of the devastating damage and pollution it have wrought on planet Earth, and “even with this knowledge, we have yet to change our ways,” United Nations Secretary-General said today urging people to reset their relationship with nature and every living being it sustains.

In his remarks on International Mother Earth Day, marked worldwide on 22 April, Ban Ki-moon called Earth humanity’s “ultimate mother – an astounding planet that has, since time immemorial, supported life in myriad forms.”

This year’s celebration marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day celebrations from Morocco to Uganda, Armenia to India.

“This can be the year our children and grandchildren will remember as when we chose to build a sustainable and resilient future – both for Mother Earth and all those that development has until now left behind. Let us seize this historic opportunity together,” hesaid.

“But the big decisions that lie ahead are not just for world leaders and policy-makers. Today, on Mother Earth Day, I ask each one of us to be mindful of the impacts our choices have on this planet, and what those impacts will mean for future generations,” he added.

“Not everyone is able to make sustainable choices, but for those who can, simple decisions such as switching to energy-efficient lighting or buying only what you will consume – when accumulated across billions of people – can transform our world. The power to change begins with you,” the UN chief added.

Humanity’s dependence on Earth makes it all the more astonishing that “we have allowed rapid and often unwise human development to disrupt so many of the delicate systems that have functioned harmoniously for millennia,” he said.

This year, the world aims to finalize the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and reach a new and meaningful universal climate change agreement. These processes have the potential to redefine the future for the better, by eradicating extreme poverty in all its forms.

“We are increasingly aware of the damage our species has wrought – the pollution, the dwindling resources, the species of flora and fauna forever gone, the rush towards tipping points that may alter the way our planet functions. Even with this knowledge, we have yet to change our ways,” he said.

“As a global community, we have the opportunity to make 2015 a turning point in human history,” Mr. Ban emphasized.

In a separate statement on the Day, Martin Sajdik, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said: "Now more than ever, on this Earth Day, we must recognize the beauty of our earth, and work as one and deliver for all.”

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Be prepared to combat cyber crime, Africa told

Ms Wilma van Dijk, the Nethelands’ deputy national coordinator for cybersecurity and counterterrorism.

The Netherlands has warned against threats posed by cyber space technology and wants the developing countries in particular to build capacity for their technical staff and law enforcers to avert the likely damage.

“In order to face vulnerabilities in ICT, we need to be ready to avoid those vulnerabilities before they become cybersecurity incidents,” said Ms Wilma van Dijk, the deputy national coordinator for cybersecurity and counterterrorism.

She said although the technology offered “an enormous range of user possibilities,” its increased dependency and ICT in general increases the potential impact of their vulnerabilities.

“As cyber threats increased, the need for cyber resilience also increased,” the government official told journalists from developing countries who have been visiting various institutions here since Monday ahead of today’s (Thursday) Global Conference on Cyber Space.

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Survey Shows Sharp Drop in Childhood Stunting in Tanzania

The results of a National Nutrition Survey released in Tanzania show that between 2010 and 2014, chronic malnutrition - stunting, or low height for age - among children under five in the country fell from 42 per cent to 35 per cent.

"Undernutrition, and especially stunting, is one of the silent crises for children in Tanzania," said UNICEF Representative in Tanzania Dr Jama Gulaid. "Malnutrition has severe consequences. It blunts the intellect, saps the productivity of everyone it touches and perpetuates poverty. The success we are celebrating today is due to increased political commitment and improved coordination mechanisms for nutrition since 2011."

In 2011, Tanzania became a key partner in the major global initiative called the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, which is bringing much needed focus and investment for nutrition in a number of countries. President Jakaya M. Kikwete became a member of the high-level international SUN Lead Group and played a key role in the promotion of the nutrition agenda at the international level and in Tanzania.

"These results are very encouraging. The hidden crisis of chronic malnutrition is robbing thousands of our children of their full potential and hampering the social and economic progress of Tanzania", said Mr. Obey Assery, SUN Focal Person for Tanzania.

The Government of Tanzania launched a five-year National Nutrition Strategy (2011-2016) with an Implementation Plan which guides actions by ministries, departments, agencies and local government authorities, as well as development partners.

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