Impacts of Wildlife Tourism on Rural Livelihoods in Southern Africa - Responsible Tourism: Critical Issues for Conservation and Development - page 141

Table 7.4 Income and disbursements in the Torra Conservancy 1999-2004, in US$

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Total financial benefit
Joint ventures $61,057 $52,982 $56,706 $55,930 $90,580 $168,978

Trophy hunting $16,319 $25,600 $7250 $18,873 $15,326 $19,329

Non-tourism income $81,435 $86,999 $76,178 $133,061 $306,436 $284,618

Total $158,810 $165,581 $140,134 $207,865 $412,342 $472,925

Household income
Benefit to households $66,264 $63,435 $57,552 $51,905 $121,327 $269,628

% of total financial benefit 41.7% 38.3% 41.1% 25.0% 29.4% 57.0%

Income from joint
ventures $33,012 $29,454 $27,902 $25,285 $58,007 $126,949

Income from hunting 0 $1185 $749 $668 $1593 $2035

Note: N$ to US$ exchange rates for 1 June each year: 1999 = 0.16038; 2000 = 0.1468; 2001 = 0.12484; 2002
= 0.10114; 2003 = 0.11819; 2004 = 0.15104.

Source: Data from WWF-LIFE on behalf of the CBNRM programme (2005)

from wildlife tourism through a joint venture (the Damaraland Camp operated by
Wilderness Safaris) and trophy hunting (NACSO, 2004). Table 7.4 shows that
households received quite variable proportions of the total financial benefit
through wages and salaries between 1999 and 2004, (25-57 per cent), but that
the actual value of the benefit generated by tourism increased by over 250 per
cent over the 5-year period from US$77,375 in 1999 to $188,307 in 2004. 6 On
average, the proportion of the trust income generated by tourism joint ventures
was significant at 48.1 per cent, while the proportion from hunting was minor at
only 1.1 per cent. Other forms of income were not wildlife tourism related (e.g.
live game sales, meat distribution, use of game, etc).
According to Long (2004), the dividends of US$74 to each member of the
Torra Conservancy in 2003 was adequate to support basic grocery costs for a
local household for three months. To put this in context, it was almost equivalent
to the average amount raised annually from the sale of live goats; equivalent to 14
per cent of the average annual income (US$532) for individuals in the region; and
8 per cent of the average annual income of households (US$946). Interestingly,
the most common use of the income reported was to pay for school fees (Long,
2004b). 7
Another conservancy created by the Ju/'hoansi San of Nyae Nyae in north-
eastern Namibia in 1998, covers 9030km 2 . The Nyae Nyae Conservancy and
Khaudom National Park (3842km 2 ) jointly span approximately13,000km 2 of
wilderness wildlife habitat. This area is populated by one of the country's most
poverty-stricken and marginalized communities. Largely as a result of the game
reintroduction effort made since 1999, game numbers increased, which
contributed significantly to the livelihoods of the members. The Conservancy
provided 28 per cent of all jobs from hunting operations (n = 97), a hunting