THE World Bank has approved a $6,3-million credit for Tanzania to rescue a rare species of toad threatened by a hydropower station. The Kihansi spray toads’ survival depended on the spray of the Kihansi falls, but the delicate habitat conditions began to evaporate with the building of the 180 megawatt hydropower station in Tanzania’s southern highlands. At the same time, the tiny toads’ presence has been adversely affecting power generation at the $272-million plant. An artificial habitat will be set up with a special irrigation system that is designed to facilitate captive breeding of the rare toads under the project, which will be implemented by the vice president’s office, the World Bank statement said. Some 500 of the toads were sent to the United States under a World Bank-funded programme for scientific studies to establish whether they can survive in an alternative environment. Many of the toads are reportedly doing well. – AFP