Julie Shaw reports on her trip to Tanzania for a recent workshop to help assess five years of Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund investment in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya. The trip also included visits to a few of the projects supported by CEPF for a first-hand look at the impact of the investment.
STARTING OUT IN DAR ES SALAAM
We arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last night, withered and dirty from many hours of flight. My left leg, which I injured in an ill-fated attempt at jogging (torn muscle) back home, seems to have made the flight with flying colors—red and greenish-blue mostly. It’s a little swollen, but not bad considering. My doctor recommended bringing crutches along, just in case, but I couldn’t bear the thought of adding another thing to my luggage. Let’s hope that was not an ill-fated decision as well.
We’re staying at an Italian hostel in Dar es Salaam for a couple of days.
I’m here with Kellee Koenig, cartographer/Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist for Conservation International, and we’re doing what anyone would do while visiting a tropical country—sitting in the room that has free wireless and typing away. We will, however, venture out soon to pick up a few necessities and get a feel for the neighborhood, and the tropical weather.
Though this is my first time in Tanzania, sights and sounds here are bringing back memories of some time I spent in Uganda for a graduate internship in journalism a few years ago. The rooster crow that woke us, the brightly painted shops, the sound of children giggling at the obvious out-of-towners, the pervasive smell of charcoal fires—all feel familiar and make me nostalgic. The charcoal, however, is also a constant reminder of the environmental challenges the region faces.
Well, it’s sunny; it’s crazy hot, and there’s a cold beverage just around the corner from me, so I’m going to it now.
Next: DAY TWO: Preparing for the Next Leg