The Great Ruaha River

This film shows how ill-advised management at the source of one of Tanzania’s major rivers has far reaching effects for communities and wildlife living downstream, as well as for the whole country. This film exemplifies a situation that can be seen happening right across Africa (and in many other countries across the globe). 2,000 copies of this film have been distributed in East Africa, in English and Kiswahili, and have been seen by 4 million people in Kenya and Tanzania alone.

The film was seen by senior members of the Tanzanian Government and was partially responsible for their implementation of a conservation/rehabilitation project for the Usangu Swamp, the vital headwaters of the Ruaha River. This film is still being quoted from and used as an important document in the on-going disputes about water in this area.

The film has won 2 international environmental film festival awards – the English version won the Jury Prize at the Spanish River Festival, and the Kiswahili version won the Golden Dhow Award at the Zanzibar Film Festival in Tanzania.

This film was screened on specially erected screens in the Water Dome throughout the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, August 2002 (through the Global Environment Facility of the World Bank).

Year of Completion: 1998

Available in the following Languages: English, Kiswahili
Available in the following formats: DVD, VHS

If you represent an educational institution, or an environmental or conservation organization, you can request a copy of this film. Please specify whether you would like a DVD or VHS copy. (DVDs have both languages on the same disk, but if you opt for a VHS tape, please specify your preferred language.)

Read about AEFF's other completed films...