DAR ES SALAAM, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities said on Saturday that they would not reduce the Maswa Forest Reserve located in the northwest region of Simiyu because it was an important habitat for rhinos.

Hamis Kigwangalla, the Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said there had been requests from some politicians to reduce the forest reserve.

He was speaking at an event to fix GPS devices to 18 elephants in the Makao game management area financed by the Friedkin Conservation Fund.

"The Maswa Reserve Forest will be preserved at any cost to save the endangered rhinos that roam from the Serengeti National Park," said Kigwangalla.

He said the Maswa Forest Reserve bordering the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area has been encroached by human activities, squeezing its space.

"We cannot continue to scale this area down because it has been found to be the natural habitat for rhinos from the Serengeti area," he said.

Anthony Mataka, Simiyu regional commissioner, said the forest was very important to the country's wildlife conservation, adding that the wildebeest were also using the area for reproduction.