Russian scientists in awe of Tanzanian nature

From February to March, a group of Russian scientists, representatives of the Russian scientific sphere, NPOs, as well as the Russian Environmental Development System, toured six national parks in Tanzania.

The group of leading researchers included two PhDs, two doctoral candidates and the Director of the Scientific Research Center “Povolzhye”. After their return home, one of the members shares their experience.

“We climbed the Shira Plateau on Kilimanjaro and descended into the caldera of the Ngorongoro Volcano, walked along the shore of Lake Manyara, wandered among baobabs in Tarangire, admired herds of ungulates in Serengeti and met black and white colobus in Arusha”, recalls Olga Kharkova, Ph.D., Deputy Director General of the International Ecological Fund “Clean Seas”. “It really blew our minds how close the wild Tanzanian animals let cars get to them”, shares Dr.Kharkova. “People and cars were nothing more than an element of the landscape for all them. They did not feel threatened by humans. Tanzania has impressed us very much!”

The focus of the trip was not only the unique nature of Tanzania, but the conservation and protection system in Special protected natural areas, the work of the rangers, as well as the features of visitor infrastructure.

“We would be very glad to come more than once and bring our colleagues from Russian Special protected natural areas, to show our achievements and exchange experience in such areas as nature conservation, environmental education, ecotourism”, says Dr.Kharkova.

“It is also possible to expand the sphere of interests and present our experience and proposals in the field of assessment and monitoring of environmental condition of ecosystems, assessment of the condition of crucial engineering facilities (e.g. hydroelectric dams), etc.”

Russia has a vast system of Special protected natural areas that includes several Natural World Heritage sites, as well as some of the largest and oldest natural reserves in the world (Barguzinsky Reserve was the first to be established in 1917). Yet it was only during recent years that ecotourism has begun to gain momentum. No doubt, two countries as immersed in conservation and protected nature area management as Russia and Tanzania have a lot to offer each other in terms of exchange of experience and expertise.

The Guardian,
March 22, 2024.