Our history

Gérard Pasanisi creates the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania, as numerous roads were opened in the Selous Game Reserve due to the Geo-source lorries prospecting for petroleum, intensive elephant poaching increased dramatically.

Gérard Pasanisi writes a Memorandum to notify H.E. President A.A Mwinyi, Ambassador Paul Rupia, Chief Secretary and various Authorities of the dramatic situation.

Gérard Pasanisi obtains material assistance from the French Ministry of Defense for the Wildlife Department, including 200 rifles, 20,000 ammunition and 3 military vehicles.

Gérard Pasanisi, who later became Honorary Consul of Tanzania in France and Executive Vice President of the WCFT, obtained from the French Minister of the Environment, Mr. Brice Lalonde, a commitment at the conference of CITES in Lausanne to prohibit the ivory trade by moving the elephant to Appendix 1.

Operation UHAI starts. 700 persons are arrested and 11,000 guns are confiscated.

H.E. Mr. George Bush, former President of the United States, H.E. Mr Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, former President of France and H.E. Mr Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania become presidents of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania.

Similarly to 1988, Gérard Pasanisi’s request to involve the army is accepted. He also obtains from the French Ministry of Defense another material assistance including 200 new rifles and 20,000 ammunitions.

Gérard Pasanisi and his son Eric Pasanisi launch the « REWARD » operation, which brings about numerous poachers' arrests allowing them to trace back to the leaders of these criminal networks and to arrest them.

Annual evenings during the last ten years helped Wildlife Conservation Foundation of Tanzania to get 24 vehicles fully equipped and ten patrols of ten people each.