Serengeti Park 'a must see' - Saudi Arabia's Princess Haifa

BY GERALD KITABU

3rd December 2013

Mr. Pascal Shelutete (second left) welcomes Princess Haifa Bint AbdulAzizi al Mogrin (in a white blouse) and her delegation soon after landing at Seronera airstrip in Serengeti National Park.

During a recent visit to the Serengeti National Park Saudi Arabia’s Princess Haifa Bint AbdulAziz al Mogrin commented that: “It is unbelievable, I used to read about the Serengeti in various literatures but today I am overwhelmed from what I can see here.”

She went on to recommend that the park is a must see for the participants of the January (17-28) 2014 slotted youth Biodiversity Conservation Forum jointly organised by Tanzania National Parks and the Saudi Arabian government.
To be held in Arusha, the forum will bring together participants from both Tanzania and Saudi Arabia governments to convene on the subject.

The princess is the coordinator of the forum and this is the first time it is being held in Africa and according to her, Tanzania was chosen to host the forum due to its historical background, its renowned commitment to protecting wildlife resources and also the country’s prevailing peace and security.

While in Tanzania, the delegates will also have the opportunity to visit some wildlife institutions in the country such as the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Kilimanjaro National Park.

Despite those pre arranged visits, the Princess, who was so impressed by the Serengeti’s awe inspiring beauty that she insisted: “They (participants) will have to visit the Serengeti National Park for at least three days…have a field experience…visiting the various conservation projects such as the Rhino Management Programme, the Wild dogs Re-introduction Project as well as the Lion and Hyena Research Projects.”

Themed “Construction and Implementation of the Regulatory Framework for Biodiversity Conservation” the forum will bring together some 50 youths from both Tanzania and Saudi Arabia who will have the opportunity to interact and discuss on the future of biodiversity conservation in the two countries.

The youth forum is an initiative by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to create a global dialogue platform under the umbrella of the ‘Saudi International Youth Dialogue Forums.’ 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN