Tanzania switches on the first turbine of the hydro unit in World Heritage site

Subject: Environment

Section: Protected Area

Context:

Tanzania has switched on the first turbine of a new hydroelectric plant set to double power generation capacity but which has drawn stiff opposition from conservationists because of its location in a U.N.-designated World Heritage Site.

Details:

2,115 megawatt (MW) Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant is located on the Rufji River basin in the Selous Game reserve– a UN-designated World Heritage Site.
Selous Game Reserve:
- Now renamed as Nyerere National Park.
- The reserve is among the largest protected areas in Africa, harbouring one of the most significant concentrations of animals including African bush elephant, south-central black rhinoceros, hippopotamus, lion, African wild dog, African buffalo, Masai giraffe, plains zebra and Nile crocodile.

Key facts about Tanzania:

It is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region.
It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania.