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

According to personal interviews conducted with Itweleng Morewabone, Wildlife
Warden for The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Maun,
Mompoloki Sechele, Wildlife Biologist with the Department of Wildlife and National
Parks (DWNP) in Maun, and Dr. Debbie Gibson, Senior Technical Advisor with the
Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Maun, there have been
significant declines in wildlife numbers in the last two years in the Okavango region.
This is a result of a number of factors, including the increase in man-made fires in
the area, the increase in human population in Ngamiland, resulting in human
encroachment into wildlife areas and loss of wildlife habitat to development, legal
hunting and illegal poaching of animals. Additionally, competition between wildlife
and the agricultural industry has also led to the killing of wildlife in Ngamiland. Most
of the local communities in the Okavango Delta illegally kill or poach animals they
perceive to be a threat to their livestock and crops. For example, according to
personal discussions with expatriate employees in the tourism industry in the
Panhandle area of the Okavango, the presence of very large crocodiles is becoming
increasingly rare in the area as local inhabitants illegally shoot them before they
become too large due to the perceived threat they pose to livestock, particularly
horses and goats in the area. Moreover, according to Itweleng Morewabone of the
DWNP in Maun, a total of ten local inhabitants were killed by wildlife in 2004 in the
Okavango Delta while collecting veld products and thatching grass. This too leads to
the illegal killing of wildlife as it is a perceived threat to human life.
Some of the more important factors leading to decline in wildlife numbers are
discussed below. It is important to note that no single factor operates in isolation.
7.2.1.1 Habitat Degradation by Man-Made Fires
Annual man-made fires, often linked to hunting activities, burning to stimulate new
growth of grass in livestock grazing areas, collecting wild honey, felling trees and the
preparation of land for agriculture, remove food supply and shelter during the
breeding season for many animals and certain bird species in the Okavango Delta
area. Fires burn up to 70 percent of the Okavango annually and repetitive fires are
now scorching wetland areas, marshes and riverine forests (OPWT, 1998).
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