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

Angola considered the construction of hydroelectric schemes at 17 sites during the
1960s (Figure 8.1), but fortunately none of these have been developed. However,
Namibia's announcement in 2003 that it intended to develop a similar scheme near
Popa Falls (Figure 8.1) elicited much alarm and criticism. The most important
environmental fear to emerge during an initial impact assessment of the Popa
scheme was the possible reduction in sediment movement because a dam would
slow the speed of water flow. Sand washed down the river accumulates and raises
bed levels in the Delta's channels, and this leads to channel switching once water
levels rise. The changes result in new areas being flooded, again contributing to the
maintenance of flood levels, plant communities and animal life. Any serious changes
to the natural processes of channel switching and flooding in the Delta would be
disastrous for the wetland and the plant, animal and human communities it supports
(Mendelsohn and el Obeid, 2004).
Lastly, the area surrounding the southern Kavango River valley has lost most of its
natural plant life, the larger Angolan towns in the catchment area are surrounded by
swathes of land cleared for crops, while woodlands surrounding the larger towns in
the Delta and Panhandle are increasingly becoming barren from over-utilisation for
building materials and fire-wood. There is also an increasing problem in the Delta
with the over-utilisation of real fan palm fronds for the making of basketware for the
tourism industry and international market. In some areas, particularly on the western
side of the Panhandle and Delta, there has been a considerable local decline in the
number of real fan palm trees. Mekoro building has also led to considerable demand
for jackal-berrie, sausage, and mangosteen trees, which are the traditional woods
used to make the canoes. In some areas the most sought-after trees are simply no
longer available in suitable sizes. A local entrepreneur has developed fibre-glass
mekoros that are now in great demand by local polers and lodges in the area, which
will hopefully decrease the number of trees harvested to make mekoros, particularly
for use in the tourism industry.
Many trees have also been killed for fuel wood and charcoal production in Angola,
while soil erosion has increased throughout the Basin as a result of land clearing,
the over-grazing of pastures by livestock and the creation of paths to the water. It is
hard to argue that vegetation should be preserved if rural farmers need crops,
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