Tanzania Eco Friendly Safaris
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In a safari, as in most trips, we can decide what kind of impact we will have on the territory. And if we are going to do a safari in Tanzania, and pay the high price that it has, it is important that we make sure that it is as sustainable as possible. Considering that total sustainability does not exist, there are many aspects that we should take into account before hiring a safari.
Requirements for a sustainable safari in Tanzania
1- Community participation
Local communities should play an active role in the management and development of the safari. Not only should they be provided with well-paid, long-term work, but these communities should be the focus of activities. Local communities are the ones who should make decisions on tourism management and land conservation.
2- Positive economic impact on the territory
The safari should have a positive impact on the region’s economy. Sustainable tourism fosters community development. In developing countries it is imperative to ensure that our safari will have a direct return in the community. In this way, tourists can help reduce poverty in the region and improve the quality of life of the inhabitants.
3- Preservation of the natural environment and respect for the environment
The guide and tourists must respect the natural environment in which they find themselves. Respect the rules of the National Parks, keep your distance from the animals, leave no trace of our passage through the visited areas. Sometimes images of safaris have gone viral where an animal is surrounded by several 4×4 cars that do not respect the distance with the animal and it becomes a fight to see who gets closer. What happened a year ago in the Mara Nature Reserve is neither ethical nor sustainable.
4- With respect to culture and local inhabitants.
Respect for the culture, especially the Maasai tribes, inhabitants of these lands before they were National Parks, are a must in a sustainable safari in Tanzania or anywhere else in Africa. Unfortunately, the opposite is usually the case.
Activities that may be detrimental to local communities, such as altering their traditional way of life, should be avoided. About sustainable travel and the impact of tourism on the Maasai tribes, you can read more in this article: Sustainable travel in Tanzania.
5- Promotion of education
A sustainable safari should also focus on environmental education and environmental awareness as well as the effects of the climate crisis on the environment. The guides must be sufficiently trained to explain to tourists how important environmental conservation is, and of the problems that arise due to the climate crisis that developed countries are causing around the world.
6- Accommodations during the Safari
As I mentioned at the beginning, there is no such thing as total sustainability on a trip like a safari. But we can always be as sustainable as possible, for example, by not using plastics or going to accommodations that make responsible use of the resources they have. Solar panels, responsible use of water, not using plastics, and offering local food are some of the points that make an accommodation more or less sustainable.
If, for example, during your safari in the Serengeti you are offered fish, this is a sign of non-sustainability In the interior of Tanzania, the local people do not eat fish, and if there is any, it is for you, the “lucky tourist” who brings it to you so that we can eat as we do at home.
What is a NON-Sustainable safari?
In order to enjoy a sustainable safari in Tanzania we must take into account the above points. But then, what is a non-sustainable safari?
1- A safari may not be sustainable if there is an overload of tourists in a given area making the animals uncomfortable. Our responsibility, as tourists, is to ask to go to a quieter place where we do not disturb the animals.
2- Go on a safari to hunt animals: Unfortunately, in countries such as Tanzania, there are areas where hunting animals in the wild is allowed. For example, the image of the former King of Spain hunting animals in Botswana comes to mind.
3- Lack of participation of the local community: It is common to see western companies doing safaris where the most local thing they have is a local guide who depends on the tourist’s tips. Failure to involve the local community impoverishes the region and has a negative impact on its well-being.
4- Negative economic impact: If, for example, the safari company is European-owned, the safari money leaves the country, perpetuating poverty in the region. And even if the company is owned by a Tanzanian, the money is not invested in the development of the country in a fair and sustainable way.
5- Lack of education and awareness: If tourists do not receive training on the importance of biodiversity preservation, they will not understand the importance of preserving the natural habitat, which can lead to a lack of interest in its conservation.
Is a local travel agency a sustainable business?
A local Tanzanian safari company or agency is not synonymous with sustainability. In fact, not everything local is sustainable. Therefore, a local supplier is no guarantee of safari or environmentally friendly sustainable travel.
We should investigate whether the local safari company in Tanzania has sustainable and benefit-sharing policies within the territory. For example, a local travel agency that does not have pay fair wages to the guides, or that does not offer good working conditions, it cannot be considered a sustainable safari, as it does not meet one of the following conditions 5P tourism and sustainable development: caring for people.
But it is also not a sustainable safari if we do it with a local company and the benefits of the safari are lawfully distributed among the owners of the company. It is lawful, but it will certainly not be ethical, let alone sustainable.
