Connecting Northern Tanzania

A socio-economic comparison of the alternative routes for a highway from Arusha

to Musoma

by Frankfurt Zoological SocietyJ. Grant C. Hopcraft (May, 2011)

Tanzania’s Road Network & New Alternative Routes

Three Alternative Routes

Three Alternative Routes

Three Alternative Routes

Elevation and Distance: North Route

Elevation and Distance: North Route

Total distance: 548 km

Elevation change: 1537 m

Elevation and Distance: Eyasi Route

Elevation and Distance: Eyasi Route

Total distance: 628 km

Elevation change: 674 m

Elevation and Distance: Mbulu Route

Elevation and Distance: Mbulu Route

Total distance: 692 km

Elevation change: 1099 m

Elevation and Distance: Summary

Elevation and Distance: Summary

548 km1537 m

628 km674 m

692 km1099 m

• shortest distance

• greatest elevation gain

• too steep for oil / gas pipelines or railways

• least elevation gain

• longest distance

Current Conditions

Current Conditions

402.9270.8132.2288.5691.5South Mbulu

332.4249.383.1296.0628.3South Eyasi

428.2208.6219.7119.5547.8North Route

Km of new pavement required

Km Currently Seasonal 

Tracks or No Road

Km Currently 

All‐Seasonal Murum

Km Currently Paved

Total KmProposed Route

North Route is shortest, but requires the most amount of new pavement (i.e. most

expensive)

Estimated Travel Times

Estimated Travel Times

691.5

628.3

547.8

Total Km

8.6 hours

691.50South Mbulu

7.8 hours

628.30South Eyasi

7.9 hours

396.6151.1North Route

Total Travel Time

Total Km outside Protected Areas (80 km/hr speed limit)

Total Km inside Protected Areas (50 km/hr speed limit) 

Proposed Route

North Route is shorter distance, but would be longer travel time

Human Density

Human Density

• fewest number of people

• connects very few high human density areas (ie red bars)

Voter Population

Voter Population

• fewest number of voters

Economic Activity

Economic Activity

• fewest number of economically active people

• connects the least number of economic hubs (red bars)

Total Number of Unemployed

Total Number of Unemployed

• largest unemployment in the south

• number of unemployed people on South Mbuluroute is almost equal to total number of people on North route

School Aged Children (5-19 years old)

School Aged Children (5-19 years old)

• greatest number of school aged children in the south

• many centres with large numbers of school aged children (red bars)

Access to Agriculture

Access to Agriculture

05

10152025

3035404550

South Mbulu South Eyasi North Route

Are

a un

der a

gric

ultu

re p

er k

m o

f roa

d

Tree / Shrub Crops

Herbaceous Crops

• twice as much agriculture / km2

• mainly herbaceous crops sold at local markets (and some cash crops)

Livestock Density

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

South Mbulu South Eyasi North Route

Tota

l num

ber o

f Liv

esto

ck w

ithin

20k

m o

f rou

te

• three times as many livestock than northern route

Livestock Density

Future Agriculture: Rainfall

Future Agriculture: Rainfall

• highest annual rainfall

Future Agriculture: Soil Quality

Future Agriculture: Soil Quality

• high average soil fertility but low rainfall

Biodiversity & Conservation Issues

Wildebeest Migration: Wet Season

Wildebeest Migration: Wet to Dry Transition

Wildebeest Migration: Dry Season

Threatened Species: Rhino and Wild dog

Letter from Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (22, June 2011)

1) The proposed road will not dissect the Serengeti National Park

4) The Government of Tanzania is considering the construction of a route south of the park (many donors including the World Bank and the German Government have already offered support)

3) New paved roads to address the socio-economic needs of rural communities will not be adjacent to the park (122 km of ecologically sensitive area between Loliondoand Mugumu will be left)

2) TANAPA will maintain jurisdiction of all roads in the Serengeti for tourism and administration only (not commercial traffic)

Sources of Data

Elevation: NASA SRTM Digital Elevation Model

Human demography: Tanzania Bureau of Statistics

Livestock: FAO Gridded Livestock of the World 2007

Agriculture, Crops & Rainfall: FAO AfriCover

Soil: World Harmonized Soil Data base

Maps: Frankfurt Zoological Society and Tanzania National Parks

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM

Telegrams: "MALIASILI" P.O. Box 9372 DAR ES SALAAM DAR ES SALAAM Telephone: 255 22 21 11063 Fax: 255 22 2123158 On reply please quote:

Ref. NO. EA.297?593/01/20 22"d June 201 1

Director, World Heritage Centre, 7, Place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07 SP, FRANCE

Re: STATE OF CONSERVATION OF SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

The United Republic of Tanzania is honored to take this opportunity to clarify on the proposed tarmac road in northern Tanzania.

The proposed road will be constructed in two sections: (i) The eastern stretch of 214 km tarmac road which will be constructed from Mto wa Mbu to

Loliondo, (ii) The western stretch tarmac road that will be constructed from Makutano-Natta-Mugumu, a distance of 117 km. The stretch of 12 km from Mugumu to the Serengeti National Park western border plus a corresponding stretch of 57.6 km from Loliondo to Serengeti National Park eastern border will not be tannac. The 53 km section traversing Serengeti National Park will remain gravel road and continue to be managed by TANAPA mainly for tourism and administrative purposes as it is currently.

In view of this intended plan of constsuction, the State Party confirms that the proposed road will not dissect the Serengeti National Park and therefore will not affect the migration and conservation values of the Property. The ongoing ESIA will take into consideration these developments and will be submitted to WHC accordingly.

This decision has been reached in order to address the increasing socio-economic needs of the rural communities in Northern Tanzania while safeguarding the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of Serengeti National Park. The Government of United Republic of Tanzania is also seriously considering the constsuction of a road from Mugumu to Arusha running south of Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park.

EZEKIEL MAIGE MINISTER FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM