so much for herds of wild plastic bags, roaming free

[Guest guest]

Tanzanian Vice President Announces Ban on Plastic Bags and Other Environmental

Measures

 

April 03, 2006 — By Sukhdev Chhatbar, Associated Press

ARUSHA, Tanzania — Tanzania's government has banned plastic bags and

containers, ordered people to stop farming and logging on Africa's highest

mountain, among other environmental measures, the vice president said.

 

The government's ban on the importation, manufacture and sale of plastic bags,

plastic drinking water and juice containers will take effect in October so that

manufacturers and importers have time to find alternatives, said Vice President

Ali Mohamed Shein late Saturday on state-owned television.

 

" The ban of plastic bags and containers is necessary to protect our rapid

degrading environment, " said Shein.

 

It is not clear how effective the ban will be because Tanzanian environmental

authorities are going to have to rely on the country's inefficient local

government authorities to enforce the measures.

 

Shein said the government had also ordered farmers and people logging trees on

Mt. Kilimanjaro to leave the mountain within two months.

 

He said that 91,300 hectares (225,000 acres) of trees are lost every year

through indiscriminate tree felling.

 

Scientists have warned that Mt. Kilimanjaro's glaciers may disappear by 2020

because of environmental degradation.

 

The government also wants Burundian, Ugandan and Rwandan livestock herders to

stop using water and pasture in northwestern Tanzanian as they have done in the

past because of either conflict or drought in their home countries, Shein said.

 

The government's action follows the east African country's prolonged drought

because of failed rains that have forced the country to introduced power

rationing.

 

Tanzania has experienced food shortages, especially in its northern parts,

because of the drought.

 

Source: Associated Press

 

 

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