Mara — MARA Regional Authorities have ordered herders who set up temporary shelters within the northern fringes of the Serengeti National Park (SENAPA) to move out of the park within seven days.

"There are about four or five huts which were built inside the park but we have given them a week to remove them," the Regional Commissioner (RC) for Mara Region, Mr John Tupa, confirmed.

The one-week ultimatum was issued during a sensitive meeting that the RC and his Regional Defence and Security Committee conducted at Masanga Village in the Northern Tarime District on Monday.

The meeting also attended by local leaders, tradition leaders and Tarime District Council officials was meant to stop herders from turning part of SENAPA into their grazing land and other acts that destroys the park which is considered the jewel of the nation.

"We agreed that village governments should make sure that those who set up the temporary shelter in the park to move out. Failure of which we will apply force," the Regional Commissioner(RC), told the 'Daily News' on Tuesday morning.

The RC said the meeting discussed and agreed on a number of issues that will help to end the disputes between some villages of Tarime bordering SENAPA with conservationists. "The biggest complaint by the villages is that the new beacons separating them with SENAPA have not been put in areas where they know.

But, unfortunately they never brought such complaints to us. We could have helped to find a solution," Mr Tupa said. "Our meeting was very fruitful and we condemned poaching, charcoal and timber production. It was all about how to improve relationship between citizens and conservationists," added Mr Tupa.

The villagers were also told to respect conservation laws during the daylong meeting, the RC said. The Tanzania National Park (TANAPA) is of the view that invasions by herders are a major concern posing great threat to the ecology of SENAPA, which is considered as the country's major tourist attraction and one of the world's top amazing park blessed with a variety of beautiful fauna and flora.

TANAPA Director General Mr Allan Kijazi called for immediate interventions from the Mara RC( Mr Tupa) in his brief remarks he made at an official handover of 6,000 iron sheets donated by TANAPA to boost provision of education and health services in Tarime District Council recently.

Tarime is one of the seven districts with some rural villages bordering the country's second largest national park covering 14,763 square kilometres. The 6,000 roofing sheets were meant to make Tarime people fall in love with conservation.