The Tanzanian government has intensified the war against poaching in a bid to root out the killing of wildlife.

Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Hamis Kigwangalla, has confirmed that, come 2022, there will be no poaching in the local national parks and reserves.

Speaking recently in Iringa region, Kigwangalla said the government had heightened its crackdown on poachers through ongoing anti-poaching programmes as part of efforts to contain the killing of elephants. “We are warning the poachers that their days are numbered. We are determined to root out poaching to save our wildlife, which is a major natural resource in our country,” he added.

Kigwangalla called on Tanzanians to support the government’s anti-poaching campaigns for the war against poaching to be won. “Through collective responsibility, we will be able to eliminate poaching. Wildlife is among major tourist attractions in the country, therefore, we must protect our heritage for sustainable tourism development.”

Data released by the Tanzanian government in 2015, showed that between 2009 and 2014, the elephant population dropped from 109,051 to 43,330.

The losses were not uniform, and were at their worst in the Ruaha-Rungwa, Malagarasi-Muyovosi and Selous-Mikumi ecosystems, which lost more than two-thirds of their elephants.

According to the statistics released in 2015, there were more than 34,000 elephants in Ruaha-Rungwa in 2009, but the number declined to around 20,000 in 2013 before a massive drop to just 8,000 in 2014.

In the Selous reserve, which was previously identified as a poaching hotspot, elephant numbers dropped from almost 45,000 to around 15,000.

In 2014, Unesco added Selous to its World Heritage in Danger list.