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

8.3.1 Positive Environmental Impacts of Tourism
There are three main positive impacts of tourism development in the Okavango
Delta. These include the adoption of wildlife conservation and tourism development
policies, the strengthening of wildlife conservation and tourism development
institutions, and the conservation/preservation of the Okavango Delta and its
resources as a tourist destination.
8.3.1.1 Wildlife Conservation Policies and the Preservation of the Okavango
Delta
Although Botswana already had wildlife conservation and tourism policies prior to
independence in 1966, most of these policies have been strengthened and others
developed after independence, particularly from the late 1980s onwards, with the
development of tourism. Botswana's predominantly wildlife-based tourism industry,
mainly concentrated in the Okavango and Chobe regions, has been expanding
rapidly since the late 1980s. Recognition of the economic potential of tourism in
these regions in the late 1980s/early 1990s resulted in the government implementing
policies to support the development of the industry. As a result, for the first time in
Botswana's history, the adoption of policies designed to promote wildlife
conservation and tourism development received prominence in the Botswana
National Development Plan Six of 1985/86 to 1990/91. The two main policies that
were developed during this time period are the Wildlife Conservation Policy of 1986
and the Tourism Policy of 1990. These policies are the basis upon which wildlife
conservation and tourism development in modern Botswana has evolved (Mbaiwa,
2002).
The success or failure of wildlife conservation and tourism development policies
were discussed at the end of the last chapter. However, it should be noted that it is
easy to adopt a policy or strategy, but far more difficult to successfully implement it.
While the successful implementation of wildlife conservation and tourism
development policies need close scrutiny, their adoption indicates governments'
commitment in trying to promote an environmentally friendly wildlife-based tourism
industry in Botswana. The introduction of the CBNRM programme into the Okavango
Delta is a further step in ensuring the preservation of the Delta and its resources. If
349