the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

hypothesised, further, that tourism is a significant driving force behind rural
restructuring, changes in land use, resource use, rural income, trade,
consumption patterns, population demographics, employment, production
patterns and infrastructure development in the Okavango Delta.
3. The growth of tourism in the Okavango Delta has impacted upon the degree
to which local populations have maintained control over the area's natural
resources.
4. Tourism in the Okavango Delta has a significant, physical impact (positive
or negative) on the area's resources of wildlife, water and natural
vegetation.
4.4 Research Design
Research design can be referred to as "...a flexible set of guidelines that connects
theoretical paradigms to strategies of inquiry and methods for collecting empirical
material" (Denzin and Lincoln, 1994, p. 14, cited in Ivey, 1997). To test the
hypotheses generated in this study, a cross-sectional research design was adapted
to explore the interrelationships between tourism development and the utilisation
and management of natural resources in the Okavango Delta. The first part of the
study consists of a preparatory theoretical section dealing with existing research and.
theories on rural tourism and natural resource management and use. It examines
existing forms of natural resource utilisation and management, the role of tourism in
natural resource use and management, and tourism's impacts upon host areas and
societies. The second part of the study consists of an in-depth examination of
tourism, natural resource management and utilisation, socio-economic factors and
demographic changes in the Okavango Delta region. The final section of the study
presents an assessment of acquired data.
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