This Week >> 9/25/2008
Come with Susan and her guests from Tanzania, including Mrs. Blandina Nyoni, Permanent Secretary, Tanzania Tourist, as they explore the tallest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro; the birthplace of Swahili, the exotic clove-scented, island of Zanzibar, and the site of "The Great Migration", the Seventh New Wonder of the World, The Serengeti. And discover how and why Tanzania is protecting 38% of its territory and developing nature-friendly community-based tourism.
To view the website of the Tanzania Tourist Board, click here
Where we'll be exploring
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique on the south. To the east it borders the Indian Ocean.
The country's name is a portmanteau of Tanganyika, which is the large mainland territory, and Zanzibar, the offshore archipelago. The two former British colonies united in 1964, forming the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which later the same year was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.
In 1996 government offices were transferred from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, making Dodoma the country's political capital. Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city.
The economy is mostly based on agriculture, which accounts for more than half of GDP, provides 85% (approximately) of exports, and employs 80% (approximately) of the workforce. Topography and climatic conditions, however, limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. The nation has many natural resources including gold and natural gas. Recent headway has been made in the extraction of natural gas has taken place recently in this decade as gas is drawn into the commercial capital, Dar Es Salaam and exported to various markets overseas. Lack of overall development however has hampered the extraction of these various resources, and even up to the present there has been action on their part to develop the natural resource sector but no major quantifiable results. Industry is mainly limited to processing agricultural products and light consumer goods. Tanzania has vast amounts of natural resources including gold deposits and diamonds. Tanzania is also known for the Tanzanite gemstones. Tanzania has dozens of beautiful national parks like the world famous Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, that generate income with a large tourism sector that plays a vital part in the economy. Growth from 1991 to 1999 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals, led by gold. Commercial production of natural gas from the Songo Songo island in the Indian Ocean off the Rufiji Delta commenced 2004, with natural gas being pumped in a pipeline to the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, with the bulk of it being converted to electricity by the public utility and private operators. A new gas field is being brought on stream in Mnazi Bay.