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Dam project in Tanzania’s Selous reserve stirs dispute

Dam project in Tanzania's Selous reserve stirs dispute | iNFOnews.ca
In this photo supplied by World Wildlife Fund and taken Aug, 2016 an elephant is shown in Tanzania's Selous wildlife reserve, which is described by the United Nations as one of Africa's biggest remaining wilderness areas. A dispute over a planned hydropower dam in the reserve pits the country's president against conservationists who say the project could cause irreparable damage to the UNESCO World Heritage site. (Greg Armfield for WWF via AP).

JOHANNESBURG – A conservation group says a Tanzanian plan to build a hydropower dam in the Selous wildlife reserve threatens not just the UNESCO world heritage site but also the welfare of local residents who rely on fishing to survive.

The WWF said Tuesday that the dam project at Stiegler’s Gorge could damage an important wetland in the area, disrupting an environment that supports more than 200,000 people.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli says the dam project will provide badly needed power to the East African country and that it takes up a relatively small portion of the Selous reserve.

The elephant population in the vast wildlife area in southern Tanzania has been decimated by poachers over the years.

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Abbey Westbury

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