Re-Demarcating Tarangire National Park

Much has happened since we last updated the PPF blog. Several weeks ago, park officials came to Loibor Serrit to re-demarcate the boundary of Tarangire National Park. When the village government learned that the park was planning to resurvey its boundary with GPS units, the chairman of the village, Raphael, called on PPF’s help and expertise. Historically, local attitudes toward TANAPA (The Tanzania National Parks Authority) have been characterized by distrust and the fear that the park would attempt to expand its boundaries into village lands. Therefore, re-demarcation of the boundary was perceived tenuously; it could either be a step toward more cooperative relations between the national park and the village, or it could solidify negative sentiments even further.

We drove out to demarcate the boundary on Monday morning, June 25th. The team was made up of national park representatives, government surveyors, Loibor Serrit village officials, village members and PPF staff. We brought along PPF’s GPS unit to cross-check the points that TANAPA surveyed. Trust between TANAPA and the villagers built as it became clear that our GPS units agreed. And, a sense of overwhelming joy was in the air as the park gave back land—in some cases pushing the boundary into the park by almost a kilometer. Back at Noloholo, PPF’s field center, many curious village members visited over the following days, wanting to know the results of our work.

We were honored that the village members of Loibor Serrit came to us and requested that we accompany them in redrawing the boundary with TANAPA. Afterwards, Raphael, the village chairman remarked, “Without the help of PPF, I don’t think people here would have trusted the process.“ We are glad to have been a part of this historical day, returning the park to its original boundaries, and building better relationships between the villages that lie on the Tarangire National Park boundary and TANAPA.