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DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday launched a new special paramilitary team tasked with fighting poaching and illegal trafficking of wildlife organs and products in the nation.
"It is my expectation that the new team will be able to wipe out entire poaching syndicates and save the country's threatened wildlife," said Hassan in the northwest region of Mara.
The new team with 313 members will operate under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said Hassan.
"I urge communities living in the neighborhoods of national parks and game reserves to cooperate with the team in combating poaching," said her.
Hassan expressed her optimism that fighting poaching will increase the number of wildlife in the national parks and boost the tourism sector by attracting more visitors.
About 25 percent of the country's land is preserved for wildlife, including national parks, conservation areas and game reserves.
Despite efforts to conserve wildlife, iconic species like the African elephant and rhinoceros are being poached to near extinction, causing systemic and tangible devastation to global biodiversity resources.