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

5.4.1.12 The Beginnings of Conservation in Botswana
After 1875, once much of Botswana's wildlife population had been destroyed,
several local chiefs, such as Khama III realised that hunting needed to be controlled.
Foreign commercial hunting was forbidden and white sport hunters were required to
obtain permission from the local chief in the area. In 1885 Botswana came under
British rule when it was declared a 'Protectorate of Britain'. However, it was not until
the 1890s when chiefs had the backing of the Protectorate Administration that a
quota and permit system for the hunting of elephant, giraffe and eland could be
implemented (Campbell, 1997).
5.4.1.13 Game Statutory Laws in Colonial Botswana
The British Protectorate Administration developed statutory laws as a result of the
appalling game destruction in the then Bechuanaland. By the late 1880s there was
already a decline in European trade due to drought and the over exploitation of the
wildlife resources in the country. The adoption of ever increasingly sophisticated
methods of hunting and the changing patterns of land use also led to the reduction
in game habitat in the country, which necessitated game protection (Campbell,
1997).
The introduction of legislation in 1886, which was the first statutory game law
introduced in colonial Botswana, was primarily designed to curb this trade. The law
placed restrictions on the hunting of certain species of wild animals, and it also re­
introduced the concept of suspending hunting in certain months of the year.
Licenses were now required to hunt, capture or sell game (Campbell, 1997).
In 1891, the Protectorate Administration adopted the Cape of Good Hope's 'The
Game Law Amendment Act', which was enforced in Botswana in 1893. It was not
until 1911, however, that a law was enacted controlling the trade in wildlife products.
These laws applied only to foreigners and not to local people living on their own
tribal land. In terms of the law, wildlife was termed 'game' and defined by species,
which included mammals and birds. In effect, the law controlled the use of wildlife
such as hunting, killing vermin, raising money from export taxes, and later trading in
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