"CATASTROPHE" OF THE VANISHING ISLAND

From Iain Guest in Gland, Switzerland

The conservation community has reacted with alarm to the disappearance of an island off the coast of Tanzania.

Until recently, Maziwi was the kind of place featured in holiday brochures: an idyllic 1500 arces of palm trees ringed with white sand, and a coral reef. It was places for the green turtle, an endangered species, off the East African coast. Then it vanished without trace.

"It is a catastrophe" said Mr James Thorsell, who works on marine parks at the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), here at Gland. Mr Thorsell was formerly at the College of African Wildlife Management in Tazania and he heard so much about Maziwi that he went to visit the island last year. When he arrived, all he saw was a tiny sand bar a few feet wide at low tide.

Conservation preservation and protection of the environment and the natural things in it.Alarm fear, apprehension

Feature (v) Be a prominent part ofIdyllic pleasant and simpleRing (v) surround

Vanish (v): disappearWithout a trace Cleanly, completelyCatastrophe Disaster

coral reefCoral Hard red, pink or white substance built on the sea bed by small creatures. Reef Ridge of rock just below or above the surface of the sea.

sand bar

Sand bar bank / ridge of sand.

"I just couldn't believe it. There was nothing left", he said yesterday.According to a local superstition, the disappearance of Maziwi would signal the end of the world. This, in Mr Thorsell's view, may have made Tanzanians reluctant to discuss the affair.

In the absence of any official investigation, Mr Thorsell speculates that fishermen dynamited the coral reefs which surrounded the island. At the same time, he feels, local people probably cut down much of its lush vegetation and trees, for use in building or charcoal. This left the island hopelessly vulnerable to the ferocious monsoon, known in Swahili as the Kazi Kazi, which washed the island away.

Another possibility, more remote, is that the island was built on coral which was smashed and damaged by tourists collecting shells. If they unwittingly opened up a hole, it is conceivable that the island poured away into the sea. It is still legal to export shells from Tanzania

superstitionsuperstition

reluctantreluctant

lushlush

conceivableconceivable

Speculate (v) Guess

Monsoon Seasonal wind blowing in the Indian Ocean from SW from April to October (wet monsoon) and from NE during the other months. (Dry monsoon) . The rainy Sean that comes with the wet monsoon. (Gió mùa, mùa mưa)

Unwitting Doing sth without being aware of it or intending to do it

ferocious (adj): very aggressive or violent; very strong

Smash (v) break, hit very hard, destroy

Superstition : belong to the spirit situation which can’t explainReluctant: not willing Lush: fresh and green, heavily overgrown. Conceivable : possible

Superstition : belong to the spirit situation which can’t explainReluctant: not willing Lush: fresh and green, heavily overgrown. Conceivable : possible

charcoalBlack substance used as fuel made by burning wood slowly in an oven with little air.

vege·ta·tion (n)

[U] plants in general, especially the plants that are found in a particular area or environment

Explain what is referred to…• Then it vanished without

trace• "It is a catastrophe" said Mr

James Thorsell• "I just couldn't believe it.

There was nothing left", he said yesterday.

• This, in Mr Thorsell's view, may have made Tanzanians reluctant to discuss the affair.

• This left the island hopelessly vulnerable to…

• The island/Maziwi

• The vanishing island

• The disappearance of Maziwi

• The disappearance of Maziwi

• Dynamiting the coral reef and cutting down much lush vegetation

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!