By STAFF REPORTER
THE Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has embarked on implementation of a strategic program to build capacity towards all institutions in the fight against poaching and illicit trade of wildlife trophies.
The institutes incorporate the Defense and Security Agencies, Law Enforcement Institutions, as well as officials in the departments and institutions related to the protection and conservation of wildlife and forests.
It has been unveiled that, poaching and the illegal trade of wildlife and forest products has been diluting efforts by the government on socioeconomic development pace, thus calling for the timely collective inteventions.
Speaking on behalf of the director of the department of wildlife during opening of a special workshop to build capacity of leaders and executives of ecological zone patrol coordination groups (Task Coordination Groups-TCGs) against poaching and illegal wildlife trade, Kiza Baraga, said the parent ministry was working diverse strategies to curtail a wave of illegal poaching across the country 's all ecological zones.
"The focus is to assure all who implicate and perpetuating poaching and illicit trade of wildlife trophies are arrested and facing legal measures, " Baraga, who is a senior official in the parent ministry expressed.
He insisted that, in order to repair the situation, all stakeholders must glue together to help fight against the master-minded groups that are propelling and financing the illegal networks of the vices.
"Cooperation is vital in order to win this war because poaching networks and the illegal transportation of government trophues are organized outside the reserves (in cities) and implemented within the reserves areas where the resources are found, and finally they are exported to illegal markets," he detailed.
He observed that poaching has been tarnishing the good reputation of Tanzania, especially when loot and forest products are caught outside the country's borders.
"These poaching networks involve criminals of various levels and are funded by people with great financial muscle. The success of controlling these networks depends greatly on the ability of law enforcement in all ecological zones," said Baraga.
In addition, Baraga said the parent ministry has continued to implement various efforts to ensure that wildlife resources and forest products in the country are properly protected, including changing the working system of conservation institutions from civil to military.
"So far, we have succeeded in establishing the National Task Force Anti-Poaching (NTAP), and Tasking and Coordination Groups (TCGs) which involve Defense and Security Agencies and Law Enforcement Institutions, with an eye to strengthen the fight against large-scale poaching networks, " Baraga informed.
And he added, because the crimes of illegal trade of wildlife trophies and forest products are organized and transnational crimes, the ministry has been engaging various authorities in order to achieve the ministry's goals of having zero poaching by 2033.
"I would like to appreciate the close cooperation that we have keep on receiving from thank Defense and Security Agencies, Legal Institutions, and various development stakeholders including UNDP in spearheading war in against poaching of wildlife and forest products," he appreciated.
For his part, Manager for a special project to combat Poaching and Illegal Trade in Wildlife Trophies. (IWT-Project), Theotimos Rwegasira, expressed during the workshop that in response to poaching issues in the country, the government had launched the National Strategy to Combat Poaching in the country (2014-2019) with the important goal of controlling poaching.
" In the implementation of the fruitful project the government partnered with several stakeholders, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)," he added.
In collaboration with UNDP, he unveiled, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism is implementing the Project to Combat Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Trade in a collaborative way.
" This project is for six years (2020-2026) whose goal is to support the government's efforts to combat poaching," he said.
The workshop, which is convening in Mwanza city has been organized by the parent ministry Ministry through the IWT Project addition, and the development is a continuation of the plan to build the capacity of law enforcement institutions to deal with poaching in the country, especially the National Anti-Poaching Task Force (NTAP) and Ecological Patrol Coordination Zones (TCG's)
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