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

The blend between aquatic and terrestrial life is greatly varied because the Basin as
a whole covers a wide range of environmental conditions that have a major impact
on the nature of living organisms. In the northern catchment, the rivers are narrow
lines that carve their way through large expanses of woodland. Higher rainfall in this
region means that the woodlands are evergreen and semi-tropical, while further
south, the rivers are wider, often with broad margins of floodplains beyond which
there are drier, deciduous woodlands. A variety of specialised organisms inhabit the
floodplains which become more prominent in the Delta where there are more
nutrients, and swamps and seasonally inundated habitats predominate. Most soils
around the Delta were formed during more extensive flooding in wetter time periods
and these soils support different vegetation communities that add yet another
component to the Basin's natural wealth. In fact, it is all these dimensions and
components that contribute to the diversity of the river system and its Delta and that
affect the lives of people in determining what resources are available for their use
(Mendelsohn and el Obeid, 2004).
5.3.3.1 Fish Resources
The very first people who came to settle along the Okavango's waterways must
have found fish a welcome addition to their diets. To this day fish remains a
significant feature in the lives of many people in the Delta, who fish for food or earn
incomes by selling their catches or providing fishing trips for tourists. A total of 83
different species of fish have been identified in the Okavango Delta and Panhandle
region of Botswana (Mendelsohn and el Obeid, 2004).
Despite there being over 80 species present in the Okavango, anyone stretch of the
river or area of the Delta is usually only occupied by 15 to 30 species and these are
generally dominated by four or five species that outnumber or outweigh all the
others. Fish communities in the Okavango are broadly divided along two
dimensions. Firstly, food preferences and specialisations separate different species
into detritivores that eat tiny food particles in the water, herbivores that feed on plant
material, and predators of other fish. A second level divides them into habitats, with
different fish preferring the mainstream, rocky areas and rapids, backwaters,
permanent swamps and the floodplains (Mendelsohn and el Obeid, 2004).
151