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

Empirical evidence, however, does not support this argument (Ioannides, 1995;
Torres, 1996). Numerous studies (Bryden, 1973; Buhalis and Fletcher, 1992; Torres,
1996; Holden, 2000; Ghimire, 2001; Shaw and Williams, 2004), noting the failure of
the development of linkages between tourism and environmental preservation,
reveal an alternative scenario in which tourism places increasing demand upon
fragile Third World destinations which cannot normally be satisfied by the limited
natural resource base in a host destination. The catalogue of environmental damage
directly attributed to the growth of the tourist industry is long, and in many cases, the
impact is interrelated, and locked into a chain where short-term gain takes
precedence over long-term protection (Pattullo, 1996).
Tourism may successfully compete with local populations for scarce resources of
land, water, vegetation and wildlife. Furthermore, contrary to the optimistic
predictions of poverty alleviation and local multiplier effects, evidence reveals that
most benefits from Third World tourism accrue to transnational corporations, non­
local entrepreneurs and governments (Bryden, 1973; Torres, 1996; Ghimire, 2001).
The growth of tourism centres also contribute to local poverty by serving as magnets
for rural-to-urban migration. Rural migrants, in search of improved employment
opportunities, typically compete for a limited pool of low-paying jobs and end up
living in squalid conditions on the resort peripheries, placing increased pressure on
the area's resources (Torres, 1996; Ghimire, 2001).
Government planners and policy makers tend to emphasize the potential positive
impacts of tourism on the preservation and management of natural environments
and resources, particularly through the formation of conservation areas. The positive
impacts of tourism on natural resources include the formation of conservation areas
and wildlife reserves and parks; the formation and encouragement of community
based natural resource management projects; the education of local communities on
the preservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources; increased
profitability of re&ource preservation; development of supportive infrastructure and
providing local inhabitants with increased or supplementary incomes through the
sustainable utilization and management of natural resources (Pattullo, 1996; Holden,
2000; Shackley, 2001; Scheyvens, 2002; Fennel, 2003).
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