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

Zimbabwe revealed that people's attitudes are largely based on the personal or
communal ownership and benefits they attach to, and receive from, wildlife
resources. Mwenya et al (1991) assessed people's attitudes and perceptions on
wildlife conservation through the issue of 'who owns wildlife' and 'who should
manage it'. Their findings indicate that people will only view wildlife resources as
'theirs', and participate in its conservation if they realise the benefits from 'owning'
such resources. Hence, sustainable wildlife management will only be possible if
carried out as a partnership between local communities and the government
(Mbaiwa, 1999).
Mbaiwa (1999) states that 60 percent of the inhabitants interviewed in Sankuyo,
Khwai and Mababe regard the protected areas of Moremi Game Reserve and
Chobe National Park as being in direct conflict with the socio-economic activities of
people in the region (e.g., the collection of veld products, firewood, crop production,
livestock farming and subsistence hunting) (Table 7.3). The respondents stated that
they are denied access and benefits from resources in protected areas by the
government through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), and
hence view the establishment of these areas as a negative development.
Furthermore, they regard the extension of these areas into communal land as a
government step to deny them the use of wildlife resources and veld products in the
area (Mbaiwa, 1999).
Table 7.3: Conflict of Protected Areas with the Socio-Economic Activities of
the Local People
Village Conflict No Conflict Total
Khwai 24 (75%) 8 (25%) 32 (100%)
Mababe 21 (67.7%) 10 (32.3%) 31 (100%)
Sankuyo 12 (37.5%) 20 (62.5%) 32 (100%)
Total 57 (60%) 38 (40%) 95 (100%)
Source: Adapted from Mbaiwa, 1999, p. 115.
In order to understand the nature of the conflict, one must realize that the Moremi
Game Reserve was established on communal land belonging to the Batawana,
without much consultation with the local communities living in the area. This
approach resulted in the removal of communities in the area, to establish a wildlife
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