U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson Visits AWF's Manyara Ranch in Tanzania

On November 15, United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visited the Manyara Ranch in the Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor. The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has supported the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) in the development of Manyara Ranch and the Great Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem since April 2001.

Previously owned by the Tanzanian government, Manyara Ranch occupies a critical central location in the Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor between Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks and comprises a total area of 17,800 hectares (44,000 acres).

Long-term conservation goals for the two national parks require linking these core protected areas with corridors of undeveloped land across which wildlife can move, and the acquisition of Manyara Ranch serves as an initial major step in this direction.

Today, Manyara Ranch successfully manages cattle in conservation-friendly ways. Rangers patrol the ranch, monitoring wildlife and warding off poachers.

With the help of the Annenberg Foundation and others from the private sector, a pre-existing boarding school for Maasai children was moved out of wildlife's way -- relocated to an ultramodern facility completed at the end of 2006. Doing so provided an unparalleled example of how conservation can enhance the lives of people who share their backyard with wildlife.

Following his visit, Secretary Paulson stated, "Yesterday, I visited Manyara Ranch and saw an innovative example of how Africa can both preserve its heritage and create economic opportunities for its people. The ranch land is a critical migratory corridor for a broad range of species from nearby parks, and is also important for the cattle raising activities of the local Maasai tribes. The African Wildlife Foundation -- with support from USAID -- has set up a land trust that seeks to make the ranch commercially viable through tourism and beef sales, with a plan to use the proceeds to protect these valuable tribal lands."

The Manyara Ranch project is only one of several areas in which the U.S. Government and American people have provided direct assistance to Tanzania. During the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2007, the U.S. Government will provide Tanzania with about $648 million U.S. dollars in direct assistance and through multilateral organizations.