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

• An uncertain organisational structure (Mbaiwa, 2002).
With regards to the Okavango Delta, specific problems with the Department of
Tourism include:
• A general failure to monitor tourist activities in environmentally sensitive
areas. For example, there is a problem of illegal driving and overcrowding of
campsites especially in Xakanaxa in the Moremi Game Reserve. There is
also a problem of some of the mobile tour operators operating in the
Okavango Delta, using public campsites, without having been awarded
operating licenses. This was noted mostly in operators who come from
outside of Botswana. This situation is possible, as the DOT does not
effectively monitor the use of the Okavango Delta's tourist areas (Mbaiwa,
2002).
• A general failure to effectively implement tourism policies. For example,
failure to enforce the 'high-cost low-volume' policy. The policy was designed
to maintain low tourist numbers in environmentally sensitive areas such as
the Okavango Delta. Failure to effectively enforce this policy has resulted in
the overcrowding of tourist facilities in the Delta, particularly campsites in
areas such as the Moremi Game Reserve. In fact, the 'high-cost' aspect of
the policy has been very successfully enforced in the Delta, enabling tour
operators and companies to charge extremely high fees, yet effectively
ignore the 'Iow-volume/low-impact' aspect of the policy, as the DOT does
not sufficiently monitor and control tourist numbers in the Delta, enabling
tour operators to disregard campsite carrying capacities, etc. As a result of
this situation, the Okavango Delta is one of the most expensive tourist
destinations in southern Africa, yet lacks the government or institutionally
enforced control that should be placed on such an up-market destination
(Mbaiwa, 2002).
• A lack of monitoring of tourist facilities to ensure that the prescribed
management guidelines and procedures for tourist facilities located in
preserved or sensitive areas are upheld. For example, the DOT has been
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