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

•
•
•
•
•
•
Conflicts between conservation groups, tourism operators and government
over the erection of veterinary fences, as the fences fragment wildlife
habitats and cut off migration routes resulting in wildlife losses;
Conflicts between the tourism sector and local communities over land and
resources. Locals see the Delta as the property of the government and
foreign tourists;
Conflicts between local communities and the government over the
establishment of conservation areas such as the Moremi Game Reserve;
Conflicts between the tourism industry and local communities over the
expansion of illegal squatter settlements on the peripheries of tourist areas!
facilities;
Conflict between local communities and wildlife management institutions
and conservation groups over the encroachment of human settlements into
wildlife areas; and
Conflicts between the Botswana Government and the Governments of
Angola and Namibia over the future use of the Okavango River's water.
These conflicts are aggravated by the lack of a mechanism to prioritise and co­
ordinate competing demands, and the fact that the different government ministries
and departments also implement conflicting sectoral land use policies. At present,
the natural resource management institutions and policies, including those of wildlife,
are fragmented into various government ministries and departments and this often
results in the lack of co-ordination and harmonization of policies and programmes
during implementation. At present there are no effective institutional mechanisms for
resolving land use conflicts despite the role played by Land Boards and the
Department of Lands in land use (Mbaiwa, 1999).
401