The Realities of Ecotourism Development in Botswana - Responsible Tourism: Critical Issues for Conservation and Development - page 184

The contribution of ecotourism to rural livelihoods

Since ecotourism began in the mid-1990s in Botswana, it has had several success
stories, including the following:

• participation of local communities in ecotourism;

• employment creation in remote areas;

• income generation for local communities;

• investment in community development projects and facilities; and

• empowerment of communities in conservation and tourism development.

These stories of successful ecotourism development in Botswana are discussed
below.

Participation of local communities in ecotourism
There is no doubt that the adoption of ecotourism has increased social capital in
many villages in Botswana. This is demonstrated by the ability of various commu-
nities in Botswana to have formed ecotourism institutions known as Trusts or
community based organisations (CBOs) to enable them to participate and benefit
from the growing tourism industry. Trusts or CBOs are specifically formed to
enable local participation in ecotourism development in rural areas of Botswana.
Trusts, as local institutions, fulfil a leadership role in the use of land and resources
such as wildlife for tourism purposes by participating communities. The Chobe
Enclave Conservation Trust in the Chobe region was the first community tourism
institution to be established in 1993. The second was the Sankuyo Tshwaragano
Management Trust in the Okavango Delta, established in 1995. Many more
Trusts have been established and, in total, 91 Trusts with the basic aim of promot-
ing ecotourism development are currently registered in Botswana (Schuster,
2007).These ecotourism projects cover approximately 150 villages in all of the 10
districts of Botswana. A total of 135,000 people or 10 per cent of Botswana's
population is thus participating in ecotourism (Schuster, 2007). However, the
level of participation and success of these ecotourism projects differs, some - like
that of Sankoyo village - are more successful while others have only reached the
point of registration with no measurable output. The increase in the number of
Trusts, people and villages involved in ecotourism demonstrates the interest of
local communities to derive socioeconomic benefits from the growing tourism
industry in Botswana.
The formation of Trusts is an important achievement by local communities,
since it has given them access to land and related natural resources for ecotourism
purposes. Trusts act as intermediaries between the Government, NGOs and their
communities. Trusts are guided by constitutions agreed upon by their respective
communities. Trusts also have land use management plans for their ecotourism
areas. As such, Trusts are de facto owners of the wildlife resources in their respec-
tive community areas. Trusts are engaged in tourism activities such as sub-leasing