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

Leases are given for 15 year periods, and if the Community Based Organisation
chooses to sub-lease to a private safari operator, the area is put up for tender and
interested parties submit a proposal to a technical committee, consisting of
representatives from various governmental bodies. The technical committee selects
the three most suitable proposals and the community can then make selections.
Joint venture agreements are then often established to allow for training and
capacity building with the understanding that the full management of the area will
revert to the community after 15 years. Leases are arranged on the basis of 1 - 1 ­
3 - 5 - 5 years, and after the end of each period, the community can decide whether
to put out the area for the re-tender or renew the joint venture agreements. While
this tender design was created to protect the communities from mismanagement,
corruption and maltreatment, it has unfortunately also served to encourage extortion
and bribery (Boggs, 2000; Sorensen, 2003).
The process required for communities to gain rights over their resources is complex,
particularly since the areas they inhabit are generally very rural, and the
communities are poor and under-educated. They therefore need assistance in
understanding their CBNRM rights and responsibilities, establishing committees and
navigating the application procedure. NGOs play an important role in facilitating this
process, by providing technical advice on natural resource management,
organisational development and fund-raising. Today, ten NGOs offer CBNRM
related services to communities in Botswana, and help implement the CBNRM
project (Rozemeijer, 2003; Sorensen, 2003).
The establishment of trusts should be considered to be one of the successes of the
CBNRM programme in Botswana. The establishment of trusts among other issues
indicates an organised institutional arrangement aimed at involving local people in
resource management and tourism development in the Okavango Delta. This is in
line with the ideals of sustainable development which stress that all people should
be involved in any socio-economic and political development that affects their lives
(Mbaiwa, 2004).
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