DAR ES SALAAM, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's ecological conservation watchdog said on Saturday plans were afoot to protect the Great Ruaha River from further environmental degradation.
The river is located in south-central Tanzania flowing through the Usangu wetlands and the Ruaha National Park east into the Rufiji River.
Christopher Timbuka, the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) Southern Zone Senior Commissioner, said unfriendly human activities have put the river under alarming stress of long dry spells.
Plans to protect the river included improving infrastructure and providing citizens with alternative means to earn income instead of depending water on the river, he said in a seminar of local editors and senior journalists organized by TANAPA in the northwest region of Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria.
"The Great Ruaha River which used to flow throughout the year could go dry for six months in a year," said Timbuka.
In April 2017, Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched a special task force to rescue the Great Ruaha River ecology from rampant environmental degradation.
"The Great Ruaha River ecology is in bad shape. We need fast and immediate intervention to address the situation," said Hassan.
