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

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ABSTRACT
In recent years the use of tourism as a development strategy by Third World
governments has increased, resulting in the intersection of international tourism
and local resource utilisation patterns. The aim of this thesis is to critically assess
the impact of tourism in the utilisation and management of natural resources in
the Okavango Delta in Botswana. More specifically, the study appraises the
current state of tourism and natural resource utilisation and management in the
Okavango Delta; assesses the past and present forms of resource utilisation
practised by the local inhabitants scattered throughout the Delta area; focuses on
the implementation of government policy regarding resource use; highlights past
and present relationships between tourism and resource utilisation; and
examines the impact of tourism on the areas resources, environment and local
inhabitants.
Research has shown that the Okavango Delta, which is Botswana's primary
tourism area, is faced with a number of social, economic and environmental
challenges. These include extreme levels of poverty, especially in the rural areas;
lack of infrastructure; competition over land and resources; growing regional
inequality; social degradation; increased imports leading to foreign exchange
leakages; changes in subsistence strategies and increased 'rural-urban'
.migration; and the loss of control of the region by the local population to the
global tourism system. The Okavango Delta is in the process of undergoing a
change from traditional, rural, subsistence economies and livelihoods to
capitalist, commercial-driven economic structures. In the Okavango Delta, as in
many places around the world, people are in the process of being integrated into
national level political, social and economic institutions, both within and outside of
their control. The creation of employment for the local population, the sustainable
use of the Delta and its resources, the development of the local agricultural
industry, the continued growth of the tourism industry, and striking a balance
between the conservation/preservation of the Okavango and meeting the water
requirement needs of Angola, Namibia, and Botswana's growing populations are
amongst the key concerns present in the area.
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