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

forms of wildlife management and tourism in the region unsustainable over the long­
term (Mbaiwa, 1999).
The Tourism Policy of 1990 is the primary government policy behind the
development of the country's tourism industry. However, findings in chapter six
indicate that this 'high-cost low-volume' tourism policy is out of reach of the local
communities and will continue to promote the current exclusionist-elitist divisional
forms of tourism present in the Okavango Delta. What is needed, is more
employment-led ventures which can be executed through low-impact, higher volume
activities such as walking and mekoro (boat) safaris, as opposed to vehicle-lodge
operations which do not maximise employment and encourage habitat degradation.
As such, tourism would be of greater benefit to local communities if made to promote
their small-scale tourist projects instead of the large-scale ventures, which local
communities generally cannot manage due to a lack of necessary skills and
resources (Mbaiwa, 1999).
Findings also indicate that certain government officials felt that the high-cost low­
volume tourist approach was not based on sound environmental assessments, but
rather on cost-effective measures. To date, no environmental impact assessment
has been conducted and the Tourism Policy is also faced with a number of
problems, including a lack of implementation due to a shortage of manpower, limited
equipment, and a lack of scientific data. As a result, the policy is ineffective and
there is a general lack of monitoring and co-ordination. Concern has been
expressed about the high influx of tourists and mobile tour operators in Ngamiland
District. The major attraction is the financial and economic returns, and the problems
of monitoring and lack of coordination emerge from the undue emphasis on profit
and shortage of manpower in the Department of Tourism. Most of the bookings,
payments and banking for lodges in the Okavango Delta is done outside of
Botswana or in Gaborone, and many of the foreign tourists who visit the Delta have
an attitude of "I book and make a payment in Johannesburg, then come to enjoy the
sight of the Okavango Delta, buy a t-shirt or basket and then go back home". This
indicates the kind of attitude tourists have towards local community development
and their apparent insensitivity to the local and environmental situation in host
countries, a scenario perpetuated by the Tourism Policy (Mbaiwa, 2002).
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