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

iodiversity conservation and rural development are essentially incompatible
(Cassidy and Jansen, 1999).
Other criticisms refer to an overly-narrow approach to development adopted within
CBNRM and its lack of integration into wider programmes of land and agrarian
reform and 'local economic development'. The tenurial dimensions of these CBNRM
programmes often lack sufficient attention. Some critics feel that CBNRM fails to
adequately address political dynamics at a variety of levels - local, national, regional
and international, and that a 'community' focus is too limiting. In particular, the
question of whether or not CBNRM can contribute to transforming the structural
inequality inherited from the colonial past has not been adequately addressed to
date (Cassidy and Jansen, 1999).
According to Boggs (2002), the groundwork for the implementation of Community­
Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in Botswana has been laid out.
What remains, therefore, is for all members of the tripartite (government, private
sector and local communities) to focus on and honour their respective roles in an
attempt to make the CBNRM concept a success and bring about the meaningful
participation of citizens in the tourism industry. As the groundwork for community­
based tourism has been established, local communities can meaningly benefit from
the booming tourist industry in the Okavango Delta if they engage in small-scale and
simple projects that match their capabilities and require local skills and knowledge.
Britton (1991) notes that locally controlled, small-scale projects can have a
significant impact on raising living standards of the local people. Small-scale
community projects may include leatherworks, curio shops, campsites, community
tour operations, cultural tourist activities such as the provision of traditional
accommodation, traditional dishes, music, dances, walking and boat (mekoro)
safaris. According to Carter (1991), large-scale tourism development is often the
precursor to small-scale development. This suggests that as tourism development
proceeds, indigenous firms and locals gain knowledge and experience in tourism
business. Carter (1991) also notes that government planners should coordinate
investment infrastructure with the needs of small-scale entrepreneurs and the needs
of local communities, paying careful attention to the environmental component. If
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