Strengthening the Selous Game Reserve

With an area of around 48,000 km2, representing 6% of Tanzania's land surface, the World Heritage Site Selous Game Reserve is the largest single protected area in Africa. It is also the oldest, dating back to 1896. Its major value lies in the fact that it is a huge wilderness area - the size of Switzerland - with no human encroachment and little interference. The reserve contains populations of elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, wild dogs and lions of continental significance. Through decades of protection, natural processes have been allowed to continue unhindered and indeed many parts of the reserve contain nowadays more wildlife than a century ago.

However, during the 1980's the rapid increase in poaching for ivory and rhino horn led to a serious decline of elephants and rhinos and threatened the reserve's survival. In partnership with the Federal Republic of Germany the Wildlife Division of the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism rehabilitated the reserve through the joint Selous Conservation Programme, which ran from 1987 until 2003 and turned it into a self-financing conservation area.