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By Lake Zone Watch Writer

Parliament, as a key organ of the state, has unanimously endorsed a resolution to change the status of Kigosi National Park to allow the creation of Kigosi Forest Reserve.

Similarly, the law-making body has passed a resolution to validate the Ruaha National Park border as approved by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The Kigosi National Park transfer status into Kigosi Forest Reserve and the validation of the Ruaha National Park border resolutions were tabled before Parliament yesterday in Dodoma by Natural Resources and Tourism minister Mohamed Mchengerwa.

Under the National Parks Act, the president is empowered to make border amendments of any place declared a national park upon endorsement by Parliament; and any declaration published in the government gazette.

Minister Mchengerwa told parliament that the 7,460-square- kilometer Kigosi National Park was established through a Government Declaration No. 924 of 2019 to strengthen conservation efforts and promote tourism as well as a tool towards research and education purposes for the ordinary people.

Mchengerwa said the Kigosi Forest Reserve will immensely benefit residents of five key regions of Geita, Kagera, Kigoma, Shinyanga and Tabora – particularly the six districts of Bukombe, Mbogwe, Biharamulo, Kakonko, Kahama and Kaliua.

In total, 126 villages with a combined 113,547 households will economically reap the fruits of the new Kigosi Forest Reserve through such activities as beekeeping and fishing as per the law establishing the reserve.

It is expected that the current number of 1,764 beekeepers tending 521,406 beehives in the forest reserve will increase tremendously and contribute to honey production from the current figure of 32,691 metric tons to 138,000 metric tons per year.

Currently, Tanzania annually exports 1,700 metric tons of honey products to the world market worth US dollars 14 million.

Furthermore, the forest reserve would be a major source of raw materials for six industries engaged in processing bee products. The construction of these industries has been facilitated by the government through more than 2.5bn/- in such districts as Mlele, Kibondo, Bukombe, Nzega, Sikonge and Manyoni.