World heritage be dammed: as reckless dam nears completion, Tanzania must not be let off the hook - EIA
Rachel Mackenna
Wildlife Campaigner
Natural ‘world heritage’ is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being an area with features of outstanding universal value which, from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty, include the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants.
It’s therefore not surprising that Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve – described by UNESCO as ‘an immense sanctuary’ of more 50,000km
2, constituting one of the largest protected areas in Africa and home to one of the most significant concentrations of elephants, black rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles and other species – has featured on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1982.