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

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The development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> road network <strong>in</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn Botswana has greatly improved<br />

<strong>the</strong> accessibility <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> region, and hence <strong>in</strong>creased <strong>the</strong> efficiency <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> delivery <strong>of</strong><br />

social services and o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong>frastructure.<br />

The development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> road network <strong>in</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn Botswana is also part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

government objective to improve <strong>the</strong> overall road system <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> country. Botswana<br />

experienced a major expansion <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> road network between 1990 and 2002, and<br />

dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> National Development Plan 8 <strong>of</strong> 1997/98 to 2002/2003, <strong>the</strong> development<br />

<strong>of</strong> roads accounted for 58 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>vestment allocation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> M<strong>in</strong>istry <strong>of</strong><br />

Works, Transport and Communications (Republic <strong>of</strong> Botswana NDP 9, 2003).<br />

6.4.4.2 Airports and Airstrips<br />

In addition to <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tarred road network <strong>in</strong> Ngamiland District, <strong>in</strong><br />

1993 Maun Airport was upgraded, with a new term<strong>in</strong>al and extended runway. The<br />

improvement <strong>of</strong> Maun airport resulted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational flights,<br />

connect<strong>in</strong>g Maun with Johannesburg, W<strong>in</strong>dhoek and Victoria Falls, which are <strong>the</strong><br />

ma<strong>in</strong> air routes used by tourists who visit <strong>the</strong> Okavango Delta. As a result, <strong>in</strong> terms<br />

<strong>of</strong> aircraft movement each day, Maun Airport has now become <strong>the</strong> second busiest<br />

airport <strong>in</strong> Africa, after <strong>the</strong> comb<strong>in</strong>ed Johannesburg area airports <strong>of</strong> Johannesburg<br />

International, Lanseria, Rand and Grand Central. In 2000, Maun Airport had an<br />

average <strong>of</strong> 256 aircraft land<strong>in</strong>g and tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>f each day dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> peak tourist<br />

season <strong>of</strong> April to September/October, and 157 aircraft movements per day dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />

<strong>the</strong> non-tourist season <strong>of</strong> November to March. However, most <strong>of</strong> this aircraft<br />

movement is by small eng<strong>in</strong>e aircraft that fly <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> Delta ei<strong>the</strong>r to transport tourists<br />

or to carry supplies to tourist facilities and villages and towns. There are a total <strong>of</strong> 14<br />

privately owned air charter companies, with over a hundred small eng<strong>in</strong>e aircraft<br />

operat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Okavango Delta and us<strong>in</strong>g Maun Airport as <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> base (Table<br />

6.33). There are also approximately 25 privately owned airfields and seven<br />

government airstrips <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Okavango Delta, exclud<strong>in</strong>g those used by <strong>the</strong> Botswana<br />

Defence Force (Ma<strong>in</strong>, 2001; Roodt, 2004).<br />

275

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