Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free standing mountain in the world, was recently declared Africa’s leading tourist attraction at the World Travel Awards held in Zanzibar.  This mountain, which attracts an estimated 30,000 climbers a year, has been in the news again following an intensive cleaning campaign to preserve this UNESCO site, dubbed “Leave the Mountain Clean”.

The Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner, Sa'id Sadick, said in a statement in Arusha that the mountain environment was faced with challenges such as land degradation, non availability of good water, loss of biodiversity, frequent forest fires and pollution.

He said that ``the mountain is an important cornerstone when it comes to Tanzania's tourism industry.

``The mountain, which is a biosphere reserve and a world heritage site, generates nearly 30 million dollars income annually and employs more than 300,000 people.

``We want this campaign to be successful and sensitize climbers to respect and conserve the environment in the Kilimanjaro National Park.''

Sadick then urged tour operators to take measures toward conserving the environment of the park, which had become the lifeline of many people.

The commissioner described Mount Kilimanjaro as one of the national values and vowed to take stern measures against illegal loggers in the park.

The Director General of the Tanzania National Park, Allan Kijazi, also said that the campaign was meant to make Mount Kilimanjaro remain as it was and the to lure more tourists.

According to Kijazi, the park leads the 16 national parks in terms of revenue collection, adding that tourism sector contributes 25 per cent of the country's foreign exchange and 17 per cent of the national GDP.