Your Excellency, Benjamin William Mkapa former President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Madam Mkapa,

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1 SPEECH BY H.E. JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT A FUND RAISING GALA DINNER ORGANISED BY THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION OF TANZANIA HELD AT THE MOVENPICK HOTEL, DAR ES SALAAM 20 th JUNE, 2006 Your Excellency, Benjamin William Mkapa former President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Madam Mkapa, Patron of the Wildlife Conservation of Tanzania; Hon. Anthony Diallo (MP), Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism; Mr. Gerard Pasanisi, Executive Vice President of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania; Mr. Jacques Servais, Representing His Imperial and Royal of Austria ESTÉ; Highness Archduke Lorenz Mzee Andy Chande Chairman of the Organising; Mzee George Kahama Secretary of the Foundation; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Distinguished Invited Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen. I apologise on behalf of my wife. There is a funeral in the family. My brotherin-law: husband of my elder sister died the day before yesterday. My wife is representing me while I am busy performing state functions.

2 I feel greatly honoured to join you tonight at this third gala dinner of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania. I am particularly delighted that my predecessor, President Benjamin William Mkapa, one of the pillars of this Foundation, has graced this occasion with his presence. I am also gratified that His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, has sent a capable representative in Mr. Jacques Servais. I thank all invited guests for having found time to attend this event and extend your support to conserve our wildlife, which form part of our natural assets in this country. Mr. President, Some years ago, shaken by the new spell of poaching, and possessed by deep sense of love for nature, men and women of reason founded this esteemed organisation. Today, we celebrate a noble tradition of this Foundation, a dinner gala, where patrons and members, joined by friends and well-wishers, give practical meaning to the concern for wildlife conservation. I have no doubt that this gala will mark yet another milestone in the life of this Foundation, and indeed in our efforts to protect wildlife. Invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, The daunting and noble task of wildlife conservation in our country is proportional to the majesty and abundance of this inheritance. In meeting this

3 responsibility, the successive governments in Tanzania drew inspiration from the vision and wisdom of the founding President of Tanzania the late statement by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere; In his statement which is worth quoting Mwalimu said: The survival of our wildlife is a matter of grave concern to all of us in Africa. These wild creatures amid the wild places they inhabit are not only important as a source of wonder and inspiration but are an integral part of our natural resources and of our future livelihood and well being. In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children s grand-children will be able to enjoy this rich and precious inheritance These words of wisdom, elegant in their rendition and pregnant with hope, form the spinal column of reference in our efforts to preserve wildlife. They indeed summarise the conservation spirit and vision of our country. Mr. President; In accepting the challenging aspirations expressed by our Father of the Nation, my government will remain committed to protecting and developing the wildlife and its habitats. As we have been informed by the Hon. Minister in his speech, approximately 38% of our country s land area is designated for wildlife protection and conservation. We are committed to maintain the size of wildlife protected area. We do so with keen awareness that the existence of a sizeable wild animal populations is a good indicator of the availability of a healthy natural environment. However, we must admit that it is a daunting task to achieve effective management in these vast areas using government resources alone.

4 It is with this understanding that we have been collaborating with individuals, institutions as well as multilateral and bilateral partners in the conservation of our wildlife resources. Indeed, it is for this reason that this fundraising gala is a very important occasion. I am told that past funds raised from this gala allowed a donation of three specially-equipped vehicles for surveylance of the large territories dedicated to wildlife. We thank you most sincerely for the effort. I am proud and honoured to be associated with in this noble undertaking. It is my hope that the conservationist enthusiasm of this gathering will be contagious enough to inspire other men and women of goodwill to also extend their hand of support. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen; My government understands the relationship between economic growth and environmental conservation. We are of the view that the two aspirations can be pursued simultaneously without compromising each other. Indeed, wildlife and environmental protection form an integral part of our economic plans and development strategies. We have ensured that our historic environmental protection obligations are embedded in our national policies and programmes, particularly the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (MKUKUTA). In essence, we have succeeded in mainstreaming environmental protection in the national planning processes. This is crucial because we can now ensure that economic growth does not affect conservation and vice versa. Indeed, as a result, we hope that our partners in conservation will support the implementation of MKUKUTA.

5 Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen I am certain that most people in this gathering, particularly the Vice-President Mr. Pasanisi, will be disappointed if I concluded my remarks without saying something about hunting. But, before I do so, I would like to make an admission: I am a conservationist at heart. I am one of your own. I love nature. Because I believe all of us are made of nature and we are sustained by it. In this regard, conservation of nature including flora and fauna is for our own good. However, my love for nature does not entail denial of others to consume the products of nature, including hunting wildlife. But I support responsible hunting that takes into account the cardinal tenets of wildlife conservation. We will therefore continue to allow responsible hunting that is ecologicallyfriendly and economically sustainable. I am delighted to learn that there is an increased consciousness within the hunting community for the sustainability of the industry. The government stands ready to work with the industry to ensure that that objective is realised. Mr. President; I am also made to understand that the hunting industry in our country has actively developed people-private-public sector partnerships, through job creation, support to development projects and development of entrepreneurship. As a result, most hunting firms and operators have developed mutual trust at grassroots community levels.

6 This is crucial because, at the end of the day, the benefits accruing to local communities in and around national parks and game protected areas, will determine the extent to which poaching and other destructive acts are mitigated. If people benefit from conservation or hunting, they become the best guardians against poaching and other forms of destruction of wildlife and its habitat. If they don t, they can easily become part of the forces of destruction or apathetic to the destruction or simply a people condoning such acts. Mr. President; My government understands that sport hunting is an international business, which requires building of trust and confidence between the authorities, professional hunters, and safari operators. We will continue to support hunting. We are proud that Tanzania has attained a world class level of trust with sport hunting clientele, of which we would like to nurture for the sustainability of the industry. There are whispers that, as it stands today, it is not so easy for Tanzanians to participate in the hunting industry. We cannot ignore the whispers. We will try to find better ways of involving them without displacing the others. I believe both nationals and non-nationals can participate and work smoothly and amicably in this industry. I do not subscribe to demagogic approach on this important matter. Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen; We are gathered here tonight to synergise our efforts for a noble cause in wildlife conservation and sustainable development.

7 It is now my singular honour to humbly appeal and call upon each and every one in attendance to join hands with the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania in this noble endeavour. I would now like to kindly invite you to make your donations. I thank you all for your kind attention.