Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Escort guides patrol ecotourism areas and enforce the agreed community regula-
tions on environmental management. Schuster (2007) notes that 14 Trusts in the
Okavango Delta (but also in Kgalagadi and Kweneng) had a total of 111 escort
guides who control poaching and ensure compliance with hunting regulations.
Escort guides have proved effective in ensuring that hunting is controlled in
CHAs. They accompany hunters on hunting safaris. The effectiveness of escort
guides and their desire to conserve resources in their CHAs is further demon-
strated by their numerous patrols in their areas. For example, in 2004, this author
travelled with and observed community escort guides of Sankoyo Village when
they caught two men who had illegally killed an impala in NG 34 (Sankoyo's
CHA). They subsequently handed the two men to the police for prosecution. The
second incident that this author witnessed was when I was driving in NG 32 after
the permitted time of 18:00 hours. Escort guides responsible for that CHA
suspected me of being an illegal wildlife hunter and stopped my vehicle. After a
few minutes of questioning and satisfaction that I was not an illegal hunter, they
allowed me to proceed on my journey with the advice that in future, I should
refrain from driving in the area outside the permitted time. All these efforts
indicate the role communities are playing in natural resource conservation in their
ecotourism areas.
Challenges for ecotourism in Botswana
Ecotourism development in Botswana faces a number of challenges that affect its
objectives to improve rural livelihoods and natural resource conservation, includ-
ing the following:
•
competition from enclave tourism;
•
a lack of marketing and entrepreneurship skills among local people;
•
a lack of re-investment of the funds generated by ecotourism;
•
mismanagement of the funds generated by ecotourism; and
•
the lack of a fair or equitable distribution of benefits from ecotourism.
Enclave tourism and ecotourism
The main challenge that faces ecotourism development in Botswana is competi-
tion from a predominently foreign-owned and well developed tourism industry
described as 'enclave tourism'. Enclave tourism in Botswana also has the charac-
teristics of mass tourism, particularly in terms of poor environmental
management. Ecotourism and enclave tourism in Botswana, particularly in the
rich wildlife areas of the Okavango Delta and Chobe regions, compete for the
same natural resources of land, wildlife and scenic beauty. Land allocated on
concession to safari operators who practise enclave tourism is right next to that
allocated to rural communities for ecotourism purposes. Enclave tourism and
ecotourism also compete for the same clientele -mostly from North America,
Europe and Australia/New Zealand (Mbaiwa, 2005). Enclave tourism in
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