Tourism impacts on subsistence agriculture : a case study of the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
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Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kamla-Raj Enterprises.
Abstract
The booming tourism industry in the developing countries has been widely viewed as a source of investment,
employment and foreign exchange. There is an assumption that the economic benefits of tourism will trickle down to
stimulate other sectors of the economy, including agriculture. The government of Botswana, for example, is grappling
with the task of developing a tourism policy that will maximize its goals of rural job creation, revenue generation from
foreign exchange, conserve and protect wildlife, and be compatible with the cultural norms of its people. As the rural
community in the Okavango Delta shifts its focus from agriculture to tourism, several concerns emerge. A key
contention of this paper is that a major challenge facing the Okavango Delta region in the twenty first century is an
attempt to support the tourism industry without compromising the traditional livelihoods of its local inhabitants. More
specifically, as tourism increases economic growth and employment opportunities, it is becoming difficult for local
inhabitants to sustain traditional subsistence agricultural livelihoods. As increasing numbers of rural, communal agricultural people migrate to urban areas, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature warned that the uncontrolled expansion of human activities, predominantly associated with tourism, and the foreign control of resources is resulting in the abandonment of many traditional practices, including agriculture, and threatening the livelihoods of the Okavango Delta’s inhabitants. Hence, the Okavango Delta presents a unique opportunity to study the impact of tourism on rural agriculture, to observe the negotiation and competition which occurs between global tourism and local agriculture, and to review the inevitable transformation of local culture, economy and physical landscape.
Description
Keywords
Tourism--Economic aspects--Botswana--Okavango Delta., Tourism--Environmental aspects--Botswana--Okavango Delta., Tourism--Social aspects--Botswana--Okavango Delta., Agriculture--Botswana--Okavango Delta., Natural resources management--Botswana--Okavango Delta.
Citation
Harrison, P., Maharaj, B. 2013. Tourism impacts on subsistence agriculture : a case study of the Okavango Delta, Botswana. J Hum Ecol. 43 (1) pp. 29-39.