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

numbers (Appendix One). Investigations into the linkages between tourism
development and the management and utilisation of the Okavango Delta's natural
resources have been limited to tourism's physical impact upon these resources. As
such, they also tend to focus narrowly on resource conservation and degradation,
while neglecting issues such as tourist influence in the utilisation and management
of natural resources, government policy and planning, the role of local communities
in resource management, economies, infrastructure and management constraints
(Appendix One).
As can be seen from Appendix One, there is a clear lack of research which deals
with the complex interrelationships between the tourism and natural resource
sectors in the Okavango Delta. The paucity of research on the linkages between
international tourism and the utilisation and management of the Delta's natural
resources is particularly disconcerting in light of the rapid growth of international
tourism in this region, whose local population is still, to a large extent, directly
dependent upon such natural resources for their livelihoods. If the Government of
Botswana is to develop a tourism industry which fosters environmental and natural
resource preservation, rather than maintaining a heavy dependence on limited and
fragile resources, a better understanding of the relationship between the two sectors
is necessary (Torres, 1996).
This study will attempt to employ a broad definition of 'linkage', extending beyond
the physical impacts of tourism on natural resources to examine the relationships,
mechanisms and interactions between the tourism industry, government institutions,
human agents and natural resources in the Okavango Delta.
The global tourism industry is of great importance to both developed and developing
countries as it contributes greatly to economic growth and channels expenditure
from richer to poorer countries and regions (Clement and Kartik, 1998). Therefore,
there is an urgent need for research that will extend beyond the narrow focus of the
tourism industry and examine the primary elements of the relationships between
demand, supply, sustainable utilization and impact that determine the linkages
between tourism and the use and management of natural resources. "Additionally,
there is a need for research which analyses the profound role of tourism as a global
force restructuring rural space and reconfiguring local relations of production and
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