AfricaPress-Tanzania: AS the Covid-19 pandemic locks down most tourists in their countries abroad, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) has devised a means to rejoin their over 700,000 annual tourists via webcam.
The initiative is also meant to reach out to prospective tourists around the world that will be able to see what is happening at Ngorongoro Crater, Ndutu, Olduvai Gorge and seven other selected points within the conserved area-the crater being the largest unflooded and unbroken caldera in the world.
This comes as the country experiences a record low number of tourists, with Ngorongoro registering three tourists in one of the few days ago and zero in another. The place is unusually quiet.
The situation prompted the staff under the Ngorongoro Conservation Commissioner, Dr Freddy Manongi, to come up with the initiative of the Webcam that will, among other things, reunite Ngorongoro with their familiar tourists while they are under lockdown but also connect the Authority with many other potential tourists in different continents.
“As we go through the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, we experience very low numbers of tourists; In some days we had three and yesterday zero.
We had expected the situation but not to this level and we came up with an initiative of the webcam so that we reunite with our tourists numbering 700,000 per year and all over the world.
They can now see from their lockdown homes what is happening here at Ngorongoro.
“Through this technology, they can get relief from being locked down at their homes by recalling memories of Ngorongoro Crater, Ndutu, Olduvai Gorge and other areas, seeing all the animals.
When the pandemic is over, they will be happy to come over and see them in their natural habitats.
Other people around the world who have not come will be inspired and come as well,” said Dr Manongi.
A webcam is a video camera that feeds or streams an image or video in real time to or through a computer to a computer network, such as the internet.
Webcams are typically small cameras that sit on a desk, attached to a user’s monitor, or are built into the hardware.
Webcams can be used during a video chat session, with conversations that include live audio and video.
The new six-month pilot project was launched by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Professor Adolf Mkenda, who hailed Ngorongoro for the creativity, saying that as stars are not seen in daylight but at night, one sees a lot of stars at Ngorongoro during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are proud of you guys because while many other people are just indoors, you are active and innovative, protecting yourselves, the environment, animals and others but as well as coming up with this project that will keep you united with the tourists that used to come here as well as the whole world so that when this is over; and surely it will be over, they come. I really thank you,” said the PS.
He noted that by being locked at home, the tourists and prospective tourists abroad are not in a good state.
They are mostly fed on news about the deadly virus and deaths, hence the webcam initiative will inject liveliness and joy into the people, giving them great memories as planes are grounded worldwide.
Professor Mkenda said the situation is scary as there are no anticipated revenue inputs at Ngorongoro as well as Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa), urging everybody to be strong and be ready for adjusting budget challenges.
He said poachers might exploit the situation but cautioned them that the authorities were on full alert to to deal with them squarely.
The PS expressed sadness over the closure of companies in the private sector, the consequences of which include job losses and stress over how to repay bank loans.
He recalled that last year he officiated a ceremony at which a certain bank had loaned vehicles to some businesspersons, especially the youth, who are obliged to have to repay loans that they aren’t in a position to.
He appealed to banks and the Treasury to figure out how they can bail out these people.
The Chairman of the Webcam Project, Engineer Joshua Mwankunda, said the cameras in use are of a very high resolution, catching images, sending them to a control centre then to the internet system.
The system, he said, shows the world what Ngorongoro has to offer, get connected with many of the people and prepare them to go to Ngorongoro when the pandemic is over.
Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Professor Dos Santos Silayo, said distress brings knowledge and the initiative shows that Ngorongoro cares for its clients in every way.
He noted that the pandemic causes psychological problems due to lockdown and deaths.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers 8,292 square kilometers and is a multiple land use, designated to promote conservation of natural resources, safeguard the interests of NCAA indigenous residents and promote tourism.
It is a unique protected area in the whole of Africa where conservation of natural resources is integrated with human development.
