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

8.3.2.2 Creation of Illegal Roads in Environmentally Sensitive Areas
The high numbers of tourists in the Okavango Delta creates problems for the
efficient monitoring of tourist activities by government officials. This has resulted in
the creation of illegal roads by tourist/tour operator vehicles in many environmentally
sensitive areas, such as in the Moremi Game Reserve. The creation of illegal roads
affects vegetation and reduces the scenic beauty of the Okavango. According to
Roodt (1998), there are up to 178 tourist vehicles that use the Xakanaxa area in the
Moremi Game Reserve every day during the peak tourist season. Apart from the
overutilisation and creation of illegal roads by tourists and tour operators in Moremi,
the vehicles are also a source of noise pollution and disturb the area's wildlife.
The creation of illegal roads is exacerbated by the fact that tourist camps and lodges
are generally concentrated within small areas in various parts of the Delta. This is an
apparent failure of the Departments of Tourism, and Wildlife and National Parks to
observe carrying capacity in an environmentally sensitive area. The concentration of
camps and lodges within a small distance from one another also reflects a failure by
government to devise a proper management plan for tourism development in which
the radius between each facility is based on some recognition of the ecological
impacts of such facilities in the Okavango Delta. The creation of many illegal roads
and tracks also indicated failure by the Departments of Tourism, and Wildlife and
National Parks to implement national rules and regulations controlling tourist traffic
and numbers in environmentally sensitive and protected areas (Mbaiwa, 2002).
Additionally, during the dry-season in the Okavango Delta, there is a problem of
tourism operators driving on floodplains in the Delta to take tourists on wildlife
viewing, and safari hunting expeditions. This affects vegetation and a number of
f1oodplain-bird nesting sites (such as Plovers), disturbs wildlife, and impacts
negatively on the aesthetics of the Delta's floodplains. By the end of the dry-season
vehicle tracks criss-cross entire floodplain areas.
8.3.2.3 Impacts of Tourist Accommodation Facilities on the Okavango Delta
Littering, especially plastic bags, pieces of paper, cans and bottles, is common along
the roads and in campsites in the Okavango Delta. The high volume of tourists
visiting the Okavango Delta has reached levels where the amount of garbage
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