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

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adopted, this approach has the potential of making tourism development in the
Okavango Delta socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable.
All community-based tourism ventures developed so far are generally inadequate to
meet the needs and demands of the rich overseas tourists that dominate the Delta's
industry. Perhaps, a more practical and realistic solution to the problem of enclaves
and foreign control would be the development of a framework where both enclave
and community based tourism are designed to complement, rather than oppose
each other, in order to meet the needs of all potential tourist categories that could
visit the area (Mbaiwa, 2002).
9.8 Socio-Economic Conditions in the Okavango Delta Region
An understanding of the socio-economic impacts that tend to result from
developmental initiatives in Third World regions, is increasingly being viewed as
essential to the long-term sustainability of the area (Ryan, 1991). The Okavango
Delta has experienced a number of socio-economic impacts as a result of tourism
growth in the region since the early 1990s. Unemployment is very high as only 30
percent of the population has formal employment, while Maun has an unemployment
rate of 19 percent (Republic of Botswana Statistical Bulletin, 2001). As a result, the
region experiences extreme levels of poverty, especially in the rural areas, where
most of the residents do not receive basic services such as water and sanitation.
Regional development, employment opportunities and the distribution of economic
benefits are unequal, and tend to accrue to only about five percent of the local
population. The levels of 'rural-urban' migration by subsistence farmers in search of
formal employment opportunities, have risen steadily since the early 1990s, resulting
in unprecedented social changes in the Delta, and the proliferation of squalid
'shanty' areas in all the larger towns in the region.
The growth of the international tourism industry in the Okavango Delta has impacted
on the subsistence strategies of the local communities at all levels. Attempts to
minimise the socio-economic impacts of tourism growth in the region need to be
undertaken, entailing the reconsideration of current approaches to integrating
international tourism industries with Third World economies and societies. The
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