Tanzania defends Tata"s soda ash plant
tanzania's state-run National Development Corporation (ndc) has brushed aside concerns raised by conservation groups that Tata Chemical's proposed soda ash plant would threaten lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) visiting lake Natron. It now plans to shift the plant 35 km from the lakeshore and says this would help preserve the pink flamingos, a major tourist attraction.
Conservationists argue the move will not help because the plant will continue to extract water from lake. The lake is the breeding ground for about three-quarters of the world's lesser flamingos. Tata Chemicals in collaboration with the Tanzanian government plans to extract water from lake Natron to produce soda ash for industrial use (see