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

the lessee may only use the land for the activities contained within the contract, such
as game farming, tourism development, commercial hunting ect, and not, for
example, agricultural development. The failure of the land-holder/lessee to abide by
the laws, regulations and conditions provided in the lease agreement will result in
the termination of the lease contract.
As the Tawana Land Board is one of the primary institutions in tourism development
in the Okavango Delta, it controls not only the allocation of communal land for
tourism development, but is responsible also for the monitoring of tourism growth,
controls the building of most of the tourist facilities in the Delta and ensures that the
tourism industry does not degrade the environment upon which it is based. It is
through the Tawana Land Board that the government enforces its 'high-cost, low­
impact' tourism policy. As such, the Tawana Land Board plays an extremely
important role in land and tourism management in the Delta. However, it has also
been noted that there are several problems associated with the Tawana Land Board
which may threaten the sustainable use of land resources in the area.
Firstly, there is general dissatisfaction amongst tour operators/companies in the
Delta regarding the Tawana Land Boards policy of awarding only 15-year contracts,
with reviews carried out every five years. Many of the managers of tourist facilities
under the authority of the Tawana Land Board, interviewed in the Delta, stated that
the 15-year policy:
• Limited the lifespan of their tourism facilities/ventures;
• Discouraged them from putting too much capital into the development of
their tourism infrastructure as there were no guarantees that their leases
would be renewed after 15 years, and hence would not reap any long-term
benefits from their ventures;
• Encouraged attitudes amongst tour operators of 'take what you can from
your tourism venture over the short-term, regardless of environmental,
social consequences', leading to a lack of accountability amongst tourism
operators/companies;
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