Saving Ngezi forest: The Pemba hotel project has got to go! – somewhere else
Tanzania’s jewel island stands at a crossroads as scientists call for the Pemba hotel project to relocate and protect its natural heart.
I’ve been to Pemba, and if you’ve ever stood beneath the Ngezi trees, you know how alive that forest feels. So when scientists called for the relocation of the Pemba hotel project, many of us who love Zanzibar’s wild beauty understood why.
The Mantuli Luxury Estate, worth about R150 million, is planned inside Ngezi–Vumawimbi Forest Reserve, a protected home to rare trees, orchids, and the endangered Pemba flying fox.
Fourteen international scientists, led by Professor Tim Caro from the University of Bristol, have urged the Zanzibar government to move the project outside the reserve to avoid what they call “irreversible loss.”
Why the Ngezi forest matters
Ngezi is one of Tanzania’s last remaining coastal forests. It shelters near-threatened species like the Intsia bijuga tree, once thought extinct on Pemba.
The area also hosts endemic species – the Pemba scops owl, the Pemba pigeon and several orchids found nowhere else. Scientists estimate that about 23 % of tall-tree forest could vanish if construction continues.
They also warn that locals will lose access to public beaches used for fishing, swimming and school excursions. That’s not just about ecology; it’s about community.
The government’s stance on the Pemba hotel project
The Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority insists the resort will occupy less than 3 % of the reserve and bring jobs and revenue to the island.
Officials say consultations were held with residents and that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is under review. But environmentalists argue the process lacked transparency and urgency.
What this means for Africa
This isn’t just a Pemba issue, it’s an African question: how do we grow tourism without losing what makes our continent beautiful?
When eco-systems fall, jobs and identity fall with them.
The forest doesn’t need to disappear for Pemba to prosper. Moving the project could prove that development and conservation can coexist.
So, before the bulldozers arrive, let’s listen to the forest, it’s asking us to think before we build.