Tanzania is officially ready to take the anti poaching fight of the ground.
The minister of tourism and natural resources Lazaro Nyalandu emphasized the Tanzania government’s determination to end wildlife poaching in Tanzania during the national congress during a session where he tabled the estimated ministry budget. According to the minister, the government of Tanzania together with Ngorongoro Conservation Area authority (NCAA) and Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) intend to purchase three helicopter choppers.
The helicopters will do airborne surveys of Selous, Ngorongoro, and the rest of the parks under TANAPA’s jurisdiction. This will make it 
possible to cover a wider area in as the hunt for poachers goes on. The helicopters will be accompanied by 12 vehicles which will be manned by well trained commandos who have been authorised to arrest poachers. The government also plans to recruit more rangers in the various national parks. In addition to the helicopters and vehicles, the Tanzania government plans to start a basket fund to support anti-poaching initiatives and programs. This project is supported by UNDP and a few other development partners. Tanzania also hopes to use some of the its anti poaching financial resources for the Tanzania cheetah Conservation programme. Cheetahs are also an endangered species that needs to be protected and conserved.
The PWTI training infrastructure and classroom buildings need some improvement as well. Mr. Nyalandu said that the government would also be covering those improvements.
Rampant wildlife poaching has brought bad publicity to Tanzania and somewhat ruined the country’s image especially with conservationist groups. Mr. Nyalandu said that the government is trying to rebrand the country’s image and market it to tourists as a way of promoting itself as a tourist destination. Another things on the government’s agenda in its effort o promote tourism in Tanzania is producing advertisements to be streamed on international television channels such as CNN so that they can market Tanzania to the world. President Jakaya Kikwete will officially launch the first advertisement in June 2014.
Tourism in Tanzania contributes about 17% to its GDP that is why the government is doing its best to grow the industry, conserve wildlife and market the country as a tourist destination. Safaris in Tanzania are already quite popular with tourists from all over the world. The government and the ministry of natural resources and tourism are hoping that the number of tourists will increase and possibly double in the coming years.
