Eco-tourism—The way forward

Eco-tourism is the buzzword on the lips of everyone connected with the tourist industry. While its meaning, objectives and implications are far from clear, the whole world is groping towards a more ecological future. And over the last decade the Botswana government has been laying down its future national eco-tourism strategy on the best ecological lines. Our Editor, Alan Rake gives his own views on a complex issue.

In a recent interview, President Festus Mogae identified eco-tourism as the best way forward for the Botswana economy. He told the London-based African Business magazine: "We have identified eco-tourism based on our wildlife. We are trying to attract private investors, with the participation of our citizens, in the development of facilities for the tourism industry through lodges, tour operators and so on.

"We are meeting some success but we have a long way to go," said the President. "Unfortunately eco-tourism is not a mass industry...we have to worry about our delicate desert environment...we are not only selling wild animals but also our wilderness. So we have to build small luxury cottages and lodges of a maximum capacity of 25­30 people...we are forced to do so because of the nature of the product we are trying to sell...we have to be careful because the Okavango is a world heritage site."

So what exactly is this eco-tourism, which the President is so keen to promote?

The International Eco-tourism Society defines eco-tourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the wellbeing of local people".

The Botswana government goes further, saying: "the general objective is to obtain, on a sustainable basis, the greatest possible net social and economic benefits for Batswana from their tourism resources, scenic beauty and unique ecological geographical and cultural characteristics".

So far, so obvious. Most of the existing tourist industry already conducts its operations according to the highest ecological standards, paying the closest attention to environmental conservation and the preservation of wildlife and habitat. This is almost true by definition: because most of the Botswana tourist industry is expensive and exclusive, the environment is protected from degradation and other abuses of mass tourism affecting many other African destinations.

There have been some grumbles from government sources that private investors promise best ecological practice in their management plans but once approval has been granted they forget this and concentrate on making profits. The private sector may not like what it describes as over-regulation, but self-regulation is already the norm. Standards in Botswana are already high and it is in the interests of the greater part of the tourist industry to sustain its animals and environment, avoiding any practice that disturbs the existing ecology.

Two faces of Eco-Tourism
Essentially eco-tourism has two faces. The first is that of "sustaining the environment". This not a real problem in Botswana, even though some ecologists complain that tours are concentrated too much on Chobe and the Okavango. There are "too many tourists pursuing too many elephants in Chobe", they say. But trying to diversify geographically is not easy. An attempt was recently made to develop eco-tourism in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which is open and unexploited with relatively few tourists. But when tenders were invited to establish a lodge in the area, takers were few as sustainable profitability was questioned.

The real difficulty comes with the other face of eco-tourism, that of "securing the greatest possible net social and economic benefits for the Batswana". A few dozen community-based organisations have already pioneered eco-tourism in a wide range of activities such as accommodating tourists in their local areas.

But for the vast majority of rural people a decade of planning, conferences, workshops and policy papers has clarified objectives but has not come up with simple answers to the practical problems involved. Every locality must produce its own solutions if it is to benefit from the move towards eco-tourism. Every community must find its own way to benefit from the new vogue.

And new projects cannot be conceived in isolation from the existing tourist industry. A village in the middle of the Kalahari cannot on its own conjure up tourists to see its local culture, dancing or arts and crafts. It has to take advantage of an existing commercial tourist itinerary. A village cannot promote itself to the wide world. Unless vast expense is incurred a cultural project has to be added to an existing tour schedule. New work cannot be provided for the Batswana as managers, guides or staff unless the tourists can be attracted to the new project.

The tourist comes to Botswana first to see the wildlife and the dramatic wilderness; they have to be tempted to go further and enjoy the local culture.

Working With The Private Sector
Part of the National Eco-tourism Strategy is to "diversify tourism by opening up new areas of the country and adding new components such as cultural and historic experiences." It wants "new developments in rural and remote areas that will support the participation of communities in tourism, thus creating opportunities for employment and income." But none of these objectives can be achieved in a vacuum. Local communities cannot afford to generate their own tourists from scratch. They must tap in to an existing stream of tourists from an established tourist circuit.

Government aid organisations, the private sector and local community-based organisations all have to be involved to minimise the huge costs generated by new projects. Experts at a recent Gaborone workshop on eco-tourism pointed out that many community-based natural resource management projects were not real businesses and often collapsed as soon as government or foreign aid ended.

One project in the Makgadikgadi area collapsed because it lacked the financial resources to promote itself in an undeveloped area. Another Bushmen tourism project set up by a community only three hours from Gaborone was designed on the best ecological principles. Over 140 visitors were taken there on 12 visits. They were expatriate residents, aid workers and students, as well as international visitors. They spent a few days learning about the San way of life and thoroughly enjoyed the experience but the project came to a halt due to the difficulties and delays involved in setting up a joint venture partnership.

The San are seen as a major part of eco-tourism yet the government has been criticised internationally for attempting to move them from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The non-governmental organisation, Survival International, claimed that this was against the fundamental principles of eco-tourism.

When President Mogae was recently asked why this was so he said, "We want them [the San] to live outside the game reserves so that the children can attend school, so that they can be vaccinated, so that they can receive social welfare payments. It is expensive for us to look after them in the park. And some of them poach and this is inconsistent with our conservation efforts." Fair enough. But the San are part of eco-tourism and the purist would say that their traditional way of life should be preserved. They should not be confined to artificial show villages (however well conceived) but should be able to devise their own ways of showing the eco-tourist their culture in the wilderness of the Kalahari.

Commercial Success Necessary
Ecological projects are no different from ordinary tourism in one sense. Every one, if it is to succeed, must attain profitabilty. And the best chance is in partnership with the private sector. Joint ventures can provide management expertise, training, advice on publicity and marketing to the local community. Communities need learn the necessary business and management skills if they are to prosper on a long-term basis.

Local communities could also encourage tour operators to include their projects in the tours that they offer to international tourists. One tour operator in Maun has already started to offer village visits. Although most visitors are in Botswana to see the wildlife and the scenery they are still interested in doing at least one cultural visit as part of their tour.

And communities have to be flexible and customer friendly. One Gaborone tour operator complained that it could not organise craft tours for its visitors because the craft vendors would not stay open at weekends, precisely the time which would have best suited the tourists.

Despite the problems, a recent Gaborone workshop on eco-tourism did come up with a number of ideas to provide cultural and geographic diversification. Some of them are new; others are already being tentatively exploited.

ECO-TOURISM: THE WAY AHEAD Nature tours focusing on smaller mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects rather than the "big five" Bushmen showing their way of life as teachers or guides Trails for alternative forms of transportation such as camels, cycles, donkey carts Tours with a historical or geographical theme: Origins of Man, African Renaissance, Rock Art Tours to show the differences between rural communities: Hambukushu, Bayei, San, etc. Tours to traditional festivals based on cultural themes, including dancing, music, and theatre Overnight villages, staying in rondavels provided and maintained by the local community The development of restaurants providing the best African foods Selling craft products to visitors taking part in a themed trail There were even some more extraordinary suggestions that could yet prove commercially sustainable—Bushmen providing desert survival courses, visits to traditional medicine healers, learning to play traditional musical instruments.

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