The Impossible Ethical Bargain Behind African Safaris

Writing by Sam Denby and Tristan Purdy
Editing by Alexander Williard
Animation led by Josh Sherrington
Sound by Graham Haerther
Thumbnail by Simon Buckmaster

References

[Tevins]

Watching from Tanzania, our local media is not allowed to criticize the government, so this issue is not on the agenda, and most people are unaware, thank you Wendover.

[jeet]

Quick thing I should add. I recently went to the Mara, in Kenya. Right at the boarder of Tanzania/Serengeti. I’ve been told by guides that Tanzania literally makes controlled burns in fields to prevent animals from crossing over during migration times. This delays their migration and thus more animals for them and more tourism. The way that Tanzania and Kenya approach wildlife and just the overall respect seemed night at day.

[astroape]

That's why I love Wendover videos - he does not give you simple answers or force an opinion upon you. Rather, he presents a broad scope of information from different sides, often conflicting with each other, and then lets you work out where you stand on your own. This is top tier content.

[sarahwatts]

Duck populations in Maine were in serious decline - and then a hunting program was instituted. Dollars from hunting permits were allocated to habitat conservation (there are still lots of duck boxes out today), and the population has gone back to more healthy levels. So that's one case where hunting did lead to conservation - though I think the difference was the level of affluence in the country in question: more oversight, high expectations. Corruption happens when there's not enough money to watch the people doing the watching

[WiaraTV]

As an East African citizen, I've never looked at safaris from this perspective. truly eye opening.

[danielgoldstein]

I was just on a safari here over Christmas (a much more budget tour than those mentioned in the video but still ~$5000 for 10 days). I spent a long time discussing the ethical question posed by this video with our guides. Obviously, they're biased as they are financially tied to the tourism industry, but they maintained that the tourism is viewed very positively in the country. They mentioned that tourism is the second/third largest sector of their economy depending on year (agriculture #1 and mining #2/3 depending) and the lack of tourism due to COVID showed the population of the country how bad things can get if they lose that sector. Tens of thousands of Tanzanians depend on the direct income from the industry and millions more on the indirect effects like food, local lodging, and fees paid by the incoming tourists.

I felt weirdest due to the fact that Tanzania was in a severe drought and was facing food shortages, yet we were provided robust meals, even larger than we would have in the US. I would have much preferred if this wasn't the case, but again, we paid a higher price than the locals would have for that food so the rice farmers, cow herders, etc are getting a higher income than they would otherwise. Still, I'd call this a big net negative and was definitely my least favorite aspect of the trip.

Then there is the point the guides made that the National Parks like Serengeti, Terengire, Ngorogoro, etc are one of the largest pieces of national pride for the local population, and ecotourism is the only reason the parks are able to continue. Tanzania has a slogan "The Serengeti shall never die" which relies on the tourists paying park entrance fees. Again, this was highlighted by the lack of tourism during COVID shutdowns.

We also spoke with the Serengeti park conservation staff while there, which I specifically requested because I was curious about the conservation status with the increased development (Im an enviro sci major so this is my favorite stuff to discuss). They said that the ecosystem in the park is at the healthiest level its ever been, with poaching and disease at its lowest ever level. Animal populations are at the highest ever recorded level as well. They discussed their future conservation plans with increased post-COVID income, many of which were highly technical and very smart (e.g. chipping the safari trucks to make sure they stay on preapproved routes to limit ecosystem degradation due to heavy traffic).

Lastly, the guides mentioned that western tourists coming to Tanzania is one of the only ways they can spread awareness of their country's conditions to more capital heavy countries. People like myself come back to the US and spread the word of the amazing travel but also the infrastructure development needs and over time that can help the country's relationship with the west and provide aid. Would we be discussing their country at all if not for the tourism industry?

My trip was very local population facing, meeting with many rural communities and having difficult conversations like these. I think that kind of tour is very positive for the county, while the super-luxury travel and hunting travel might not be. 4-seasons getting the lodging income instead of locals mitigates the benefits of the travel.

It is a very difficult ethical question, but I do believe the income and jobs that tourism provides in Tanzania is beneficial and necessary to fund their desperately needed infrastructure efforts like irrigation, road building, electrical grid development, education, etc. that exacerbate some of the largest issues in their country. Without tourists, they lose ~20% of their already low GDP.

[TheLinmaster]

I'm Zimbabwean, and I believe, on the whole, Safaris are a net benefit for the local communities and the African country's economies, particularly in revenue generation. When Zimbabwe had its economic collapse, the tourism industry, particularly the safari parks, saw a massive reduction in international visitors who brought much-needed forex. Even though the industry is recovering slowly today, this reduction in International tourists left a devastating economic impact on local communities And their local economy. The failings of the income generated from safari parks and similar style attractions being felt in local communities in African countries is simply due to government mismanagement of funds and inability to direct funds effectively to the development of those local communities. Safari parks are critically necessary for the preservation of our wildlife animals and the generation of income for the local community and the broader economy.

[noahsmith]

I had the opportunity last summer to rent a safari truck and drive it around all of Botswana in a self-guided tour over 20 days with a couple college friends. It was incredibly eye opening and the biodiversity was jaw dropping.
I think at the end of the day there's a really compelling argument that supports safari tourism. In Botswana (which has a democracy with minimal corruption, according to locals), it costs 20 Pula ($1.56 USD) to put a child through school for an entire year. Park fees that we paid were near $100 a day, and many locals we spoke with told us that most of the money we paid went directly into supporting children and keeping the parks funded.
Yet, as we were driving through multiple parks in the country, it was clear to me that there was very little oversight or maintenance being done. The roads themselves were rough (we drove hundreds of miles of hardly maintained dirt roads seeing few people) and we almost never saw rangers. While each park had gates, it seemed like it would be easy for people to poach within or just outside of the park boundaries, and just beyond the boundaries we would find herds upon herds of cattle overrunning the natural habitats. I worry that while much of our money may have gone towards preserving these parks, as long as there is demand for poaching and beef it will be challenging to sustain the populations of these rare animals and habitats. Just my thoughts.

[elizabethcassell]

I’d love a video on the history of the dog food industry and why our pets meals are the way they are today.

[musonobari]

As a normal, somewhat middle class Tanzanian college student, living & studying in the town of Arusha, just 382km (7 hrs) from the great Serengeti, watching this video re-ignites an observation that I've been making ever since I became somewhat fully rounded.

Namely, Great wealth being spent by foreign tourists amidst great poverty & suffering. & why the benefits hardly trickle down to the rest of the community 😐🤔🤔🤔

[jerry]

I’ve noticed a similar trend with Kruger National Park in South Africa. While it was never an affordable destination for the working class, it’s since moved out of affordability for the middle class as well, basically making it an exclusive holiday destination for mostly foreigners

[ethanwalker]

Very thought provoking video. As a resident of east Africa I think there are two issues that require further detail.

First, tourism does create employment but the impact of displacement of pastoralist indigenous tribes increases their vulnerability which ultimately threatens their way of life - in some cases making it impossible to survive. The integration of a few safari guides does not resolve this issue.

Second, spending money inside the country is beneficial when the owners redistribute that money into the local economy. A closer study at the nationalities of lodge owners will show they are predominantly foreign owned with foreign bank accounts inhibiting in-country economic stimulus.

Tourism is good for foreigners, wealthy nationals and often monumentally problematic for the indigenous populations.

[Bundle]

That's a mighty fine trolley you've got there. It'd be a real shame if someone were to tie 1 animal and five animals along separate tracks after a junction.

[rreagan]

To get poor countries to engage in conservation, you have to make it profitable for them. Rich countries have the luxury of conservation for conservation's sake. Poor countries do not.

[scottyflintstone]

Went on Safari in Kenya. Spent lots of money in the local economy. Had a wonderful time

[MiddknightXD]

I listened to a podcast about somebody who actually went on a 350000 dollar trophy hunt and he said that the animals that are normally hunted are actually old males who have already breed and won’t do it again and have killed or injured others in the herd

[omichal]

I actually visited Tanzania last week, went to safari in the Tarangire national park, it’s interesting as as you’re entering you go through a so called highway, which is very similar to a two-lan suburban road, villages which look like they’ve been bombarded where countless people surround your car and try to sell you souvenirs for an extremely cheap price, and then you pay hundreds to enter the safari.

[juicbox]

Title mentiones an African safari...
"LOOK AT THIS AIR STRIP"
I love it.

[kingace]

This might just be my favorite logistics/sociology video Wendover has ever produced.

[samiraperi]

"Luxury tent" is a combination of words I didn't expect to see.