COAST REGION — DEPUTY MINISTER of State in the Vice-President's Office (Union and Environment), Khamis Hamza Khamis, has called for an immediate halt to all human activities within the newly designated Rufiji, Kibiti, Mafia, Kilwa (RUMAKI) Biosphere Reserve.
These activities include tree cutting, grazing, and charcoal production.
Speaking at a public meeting in Ikwiriri, Rufiji District, during the official launch of the reserve, Khamis emphasized the need to protect the environment in these critical areas now recognized internationally as part of the World Biosphere Network.
"Effective immediately, all harmful human activities such as illegal fishing, grazing, tree cutting, and charcoal production must cease in these protected zones. Continuation of these activities threatens the environment and the biodiversity within these areas," he stated.
He said RUMAKI being upgraded to a Biosphere Reserve means it is now connected to the World Biosphere Network.
"Our country continues to excel in environmental conservation, with over 40 per cent of our land under protection. Our government's aim is to ensure that these reserved areas not only protect the environment but also contribute to the economy through tourism and other means," he explained.
Rufiji District Commissioner Maj. Gen. Edward Gowele, representing Coast Regional Commissioner Mr. Abubakar Kunenge, expressed gratitude to President Samia Suluhu Hassan for being at the forefront in promoting tourism attractions.
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"Our President's efforts in promoting the tourism sector have contributed to increasing awareness about the protection of tourism resources, as well as to the rising number of tourists who visit our country each year. In this way, the tourism sector plays a very important role in our country's economy," he stated.
World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) Country Director, Dr. Amani Ngusaru, said that the promotion of the RUMAKI area to a biosphere reserve is a significant achievement in environmental conservation.
He said, "What we are celebrating today is the result of efforts between the government, through the National Environment Management Council (NEMC), and its stakeholders like WWF and others.
We need to continue working with the communities to ensure that fish breeding areas, mangrove areas, wetlands, and marine creatures are not driven to extinction."
Covering a vast area of one million hectares, the RUMAKI Biosphere Reserve includes mangrove forests stretching from the Rufiji Delta and Mafia Island in the Coast Region to the southern part of Kilwa Kisiwani Coast in the Lindi Region.
It joins Tanzania's other Biosphere Reserves-Lake Manyara (1981), SerengetiNgorongoro (1981), East Usambara (2000), Jozani Chwaka (2016), and GombeMasito-Ugalla (2018) as the sixth designated reserve in the country.
The decision to upgrade RUMAKI to a Biosphere Reserve was finalized during the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Meeting in Paris, France, in May last year.
