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Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and
Social Sciences Great Plains Studies, Center for
4-1-2010
THE ROLE OF ECOTOURISM IN
BIODIVERSITY AND GSSLAND
CONSERVATION IN BOTSWANA
Glyn Maude
University of Bristol, brownhyaena@info.bw
Richard Reading
Denver Zoological Foundation, rreading@denverzoo.org
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Maude, Glyn and Reading, Richard, "THE ROLE OF ECOTOURISM IN BIODIVERSITY AND GSSLAND CONSERVATION
IN BOTSWANA" (2010). Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences. Paper 1077.
hp://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/1077
Manuscript received for review, May 2009; accepted for publication,
Februar y 2010.
THE ROLE OF ECOTOURISM IN BIODIVERSITY AND
GRASSLAND CONSERVATION IN BOTSWANA
Glyn Maude
University of Bristol
Bristol, England
brownhyaena@info.bw
and
Richard P. Reading
Denver Zoological Foundation
2300 Steele Street
Denver, CO 80205
rreading@denverzoo.org
AB ST RACT—Botswana has a var iety of ecosystems, all of which support a multitude of wildlife species. The
Kalahari is a vast semidesert that covers over 84% of the country. Grasslands along with scattered trees and
droug ht-resist ant underg rowth dominate large tracts of the Kalahar i’s landscape. The nor theastern Kalaha ri ex-
tends into the wetter environments of Botswana—the Okavango Delta, the Savuti, and the Chobe—within which
grassland habitats support abundant wildlife species. Botswana is unique in that most of its biodiversity remains
intact, with a higher percentage of its total landmass conserved than any other country. Botswana achieves this
level of protection primarily through ecotourism, which operates at several levels in working toward biodiver-
sity conservation. Government policy on tourism aids ecosystem conservation in Botswana by employing a
high-income, low-volume tourism policy. This paper examines and gives specic examples of where and how
Botswana has used ecotourism as a tool for biodiversity and grassland conservation. It further looks at the other
factors that play a role in successfully conserving Botswana’s grassland habitats.
Key Words: ecotourism, cultural, biodiversity, grassland, Botswana, Kalahari
INTRODUCTION
National parks and game reserves make up >17% of
Botswana’s landmass, which is the highest percentage
in Africa and the 14th highest in the world (Anonymous
2009a). A further 20% is also set aside for wildlife and
protected in the form of wildlife management areas in
spite of demand for grazing lands for cattle being high
(ODMP 2006). Protecting such large areas of pristine wil-
derness across a wide variety of habitats has ensured that
much of the biodiversity within Botswana is intact. There
is a great diversity and quantity of wildlife living within
these protected areas and outside their boundaries (Bo-
tswana Department of Tourism 2004). The ability to set
aside such a high percentage of the country’s landmass to
wildlife hinges on the ecotourism revenues generated from
these wilderness areas. These revenues make a signicant
contribution to the economy of Botswana (World Travel
and Tourism Council 2009). As long as this favorable
situation continues, effective conservation of biodiversity
within Botswana will likely continue. Other factors also
play a role in biodiversity conservation, including good
governance, effective wildlife conservation policies, an
environmentally friendly tourism model of “high income
and low volume” and a traditional regard and respect of
the nat ion’s wildlife and its rig ht to live in Botswana (Bo-
tswana Department of Tourism 2000).
Four grassland biomes cover about one quarter of the
earth’s land surface, with vast grassland systems present
in North America, sub-Saharan Africa, South America,
Australia, and Asia. Grasslands around the world have
experienced massive decline for more than a century and
continue to be affected by both natural disturbances and
109
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© 2010 Copyright by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010110
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anthropogenic inuences (Archer 1989; Enquist and Gori
2008). Agricultural activity in particular is a big threat
to these systems, occurring on 7.1 million km2 of the
earth’s total grassland biome (Loveland et al. 1998). Spe-
cies diversity has also declined in grassland habitats due
to habitat fragmentation, extirpation of native grazers,
increased nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere, and
altered re frequency (Anonymous 2009b).
Botswana is one of the few countries characterized as
containing close to 100% dry land (along with Burkina
Faso, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Iran, Moldova, and Kazakh-
stan), an environment in which grassland systems occur.
The Kalahari Desert occupies southwestern sub-Saharan
Africa, extending 900,000 km2. It covers 84% of Bo-
tswana’s landmass, although in present conditions the
Kalahari is not a true desert. It is an arid savanna region
found in the tropical and subtropical grasslands, savan-
nas, and shrublands biome, receiving over 250 mm of pre-
cipitation, enough to support a cover of vegetation. Much
of the desert in Botswana and other grassland habitats to
the north of the country are protected, as is the associated
biodiversity contained within these grassland habitats.
Located in southern Africa, Botswana borders South
Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Angola (Fig. 1).
It covers 585,371 km2 and, with a population of 1.9 mil-
lion people in 2007, there are about three people per km2.
The capital city in the south, Gaborone, has a population
of 138,000 inhabitants, and 59% of Botswana’s popula-
tion is urban. Since independence in 1966, Botswana has
had one of the world’s highest economic growth rates,
averaging over 9.0% per year from 1966 to 1999 and
averaging 5.5% between 2003 and 2007 (International
Monetary Fund 2007).
The wildlife-based tourism sector now represents the
third most important income generator after diamonds
and government services, contributing 9.2% of total
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009 and 10.7% of
the country’s employment (World Travel and Tourism
Council 2009). A 15% increase in the tourism sector
is expected through 2014, with an 11% increase in em-
ployment (equivalent to approximately 45,000 jobs, in a
total labor force of approximately 250,000 workers). The
majority of this tourism market focuses on the pristine
wilderness areas of the Okavango Delta and the Chobe/
Kasane region, both of which have abundant wildlife and
birdlife (Botswana Department of Tourism 2004). Large
mammals such as elephant (Loxodonta africana), buffalo
(Syncerus caffer), hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius), and
crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) are commonly seen, and
car nivores such as lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera
pardus), cheetah (Acinonxy jubatus), and wild dog (Ly-
caon pictus) also inhabit the area.
Although at lower volume, signicant tourism also
occurs in the Kalahari and Makgadikgadi. Even though
the larger mammals are absent in these areas, plenty of
other wildlife exists and is distributed through a vast and
impressive wilderness area. The tourism market within
Ngamiland alone has generated revenues of approxi-
mately P1,115 million (US$185 million), making a direct
contribution toward real GDP of P401 million (US$67
million) (ODMP 2006). An estimated 80% of tourism
value in Ngamiland is generated through the photograph-
ic safari market, 15.5% through the hunting market and
3.5% through community-based enterprises (Botswana
Ministry of Lands and Housing 2008).
PROTECTED AREAS AND GOVERNMENT POLICY
A total of 245,244 km2 of Botswana (over 37%) is
dedicated to wildlife conservation, with >17% of the
country being designated as protected national parks and
game reserves and a further 20% as wildlife management
areas within which the primary use of the area focuses
on wildlife (Fig. 2). There are three game reserves in the
country—Moremi, Central Kalahari, and Khutse—and
four national parks—Chobe, Makgadikgadi and Nxai
Pan, Mabuasehube, and the Kalahari Transfrontier Park
(Fig. 2). The reserves were formed for different reasons
and gazetted during the 1950s to 1960s with further ex-
tensions in the 1970s and 1980s. Private protected areas
make up approximately a further 2% of Botswana’s land-
mass and play an important role in wildlife conservation
as many of them act as “buffer zones” between formally
protected areas and areas designated for livestock use
(Botswana Ministry of Lands and Housing 2008). The
area occupied by private protected areas is expected to
increase to approximately 5% of Botswana within the
next few years (Botswana Ministry of Lands and Housing
2008).
The Tribal Grazing Land Policy of 1972 paved the
way forward for biodiversity and grassland conservation
in Botswana. Its main objective was to optimize natural
resource use and divide the country into land blocks of
commercial, privately owned cattle and game ranches,
communal grazing areas, reserves, and wildlife manage-
ment areas. The creation of Wildlife Management Areas
ensured that wildlife resources were not displaced, and
so it aided biodiversity conservation. The rst zones
established areas for commercial farming mainly based
on existing situations and projections of growth in the
Ecotourism in Biodiversity and Grassland Conservation in Botswana • Glyn Maude and Richard P. Reading 111
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
Figure 1. Map of Botswana. Map by N. Bragin, based on UNEP-WCMC “World Data on Protected Areas,” 2009, and ESRI, 2001.
Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010112
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
Figure 2. Protected areas and zones in Botswana given over for wildlife use and designated as Wildlife Management Areas
(WMAs). Map by N. Bragin, based on UNEP-WCMC “World Data on Protected Areas,” 2009, and WWF “Terrestrial Ecoregions
of the World,” 2004.
Ecotourism in Biodiversity and Grassland Conservation in Botswana • Glyn Maude and Richard P. Reading 113
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
livestock sector. The next step was zoning wildlife man-
agement areas to provide a buffer between livestock areas
and game reserves and national parks, to preserve wild-
life migratory routes, and to protect breeding grounds for
various species. The Tribal Grazing Land Policy ensured
protection of large parts of Botswana’s grassland areas and
provided a platform on which ecotourism could thrive.
GRASSLAND HABITATS AND BIODIVERSIT Y
The wilderness areas of Botswana support 164 mam-
mal species, nearly 600 bird species, 63 reptile species, 33
amphibian species, and 71 sh species; among them are
12 threatened species, 5 of which are mammals (New-
man 1989; ODMP 2007). The most widespread sandveld
lies in the center of the country where grasslands are the
dominant habitat with sand-loving trees such as silver
terminalia (Terminalia sericea), Kalahari apple leaf (Lon-
chocarpus nelsii), and camelthorn acacia (Acacia eri-
oloba). Typical sandveld tree species found in association
with grassland in the southwest of the country include
false umbrella thorn (Acacia luederitzii), shepherd’s tree
(Boscia albitrunca), silver terminalia, Kalahari apple
leaf, wi ld coffee bean (Bauhinia petersiana), and jasmine
pea (Baphia massaiensis). Within the Kalahari region
of Botswana, the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National
Park (7,900 km2) and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
(52,500 km2) with the attached Khutse Game Reserve
(2,500 km2) and surrounding wildlife management areas
represent the two protected regions within which grass-
land habitats are most dominant (Fig. 2).
The Makgadikgadi region has the largest continuous
expanse of open grassland in Botswana, stretching from
east of the Boteti region through the region west to the
salt pans outside the nat ional pa rk (Br ooks 2005). Desert-
ada pted ma m m al sp e cie s such as gem s bok (Oryx gazelle),
springbok (Antidorcus marsupilis), eland (Taurotragus
oryx), hartebeest (Alcelphus buselaphus), cheeta h,
brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), aardwolf (Proteles
cristatus), bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), aardvark
(Orycteropus afer), caracal (Caracal caracal), honey
badger (Mellivora capensis), and many other species of
large mammals inhabit these protected areas. Within the
central Kalahari region exist signicant densities of other
large, nondesert specialist carnivores, including lion,
leopard, cheetah, and wild dog (Government of Botswana
2002). Makgadikgadi National Park and the surrounding
area support the largest migratory movement of large her-
bivores in southern Africa (Kgathi and Kalikawe 1993).
Approximately 13,0 00 Burchell’s ze br a (Equus burchelli)
and 3,000 blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) move
seasonally from western Makgadikgadi National Park,
where they spend the dry season, to the east of the park,
where they spend the wet season. Depending on rainfall
patterns, grazing availability, and other factors, the zebra
and wildebeest move over a wider and less predictable
range (Brooks 2003). The grassland species with high
nutritional value in the Makgadikgadi that herbivores
commonly graze are couch grass (Cynodon dactlyon) and
torpedo grass (Panicum repens) (Brooks 2005).
The Kalahari Transfrontier Park along with the ad-
joining Mabuasehube Park also protect large areas of
impor tant grassland habitats within the Kalahari region
of Botswana. Unprotected regions that are grassland-
dominated and still contain signicant wildlife species
include the Ghanzi Farming District along the west-
central district of Botswana (Cheetah Conservation
Botswana 2008) and ungazetted wildlife management
areas west of the Okavango Delta on the border with
Namibia. Several key large-mammal species occurring
within the Kalahari environment of Botswana declined
dramatically in number between 1978 and 1994, before
ecotourism was fully developed within the country (Ta-
ble 1) (Perkins and Ringrose 1996). Declines between
1994 and the present have been less signicant and in
some cases populations have increased (Botswana De-
partment of Wildlife and National Parks 2007). In 1990
the Botswana government recognized the importance
of its natural resources by developing the Botswana Na-
tional Conservation Strategy. The goal of the strategy is
sustainable development through and with conservation
of natural resources. The Botswana government is also
a signatory of the Convention on Biological Diversity
and is committed to ensuring retention of its biodiver-
sity resources. The Botswana Biodiversity Strategy and
Action Plan was drafted in 2007 to achieve the goal of
biodiversity conservation. The plan states that the big-
gest threat to Botswana’s biodiversit y is habitat dest r uc-
tion ca use d by var iou s factors , includ ing un suit able la nd
and resource uses such as poor rangeland management,
overharvesting, and excessive water extraction.
ECOTOURISM AS A TOOL FOR GRASSLAND
CONSERVATION
The denition of ecotourism remains much debated.
Th e IUCN (I nternational Union for Conservation of Na-
ture) denes ecotourism as “environmentally responsible
travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural
areas, in order to enjoy, study, and appreciate nature that
Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010114
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact,
and provides for benecially active socio-economic in-
volvement by local people” (Ceballos-Lascurain 1996).
Although there is debate as to the precise denition
of ecotourism, and to the level to which safari camps
within Botswana follow ecotourism models (Botswana
Tourism Board 2008), safari-based tourism within
Botswana has developed through the National Ecotour-
ism Strategy (Botswana Department of Tourism 2000).
The guidelines of the strategy, which fulll the central
elements of ecotourism (Wright 1993; Honey 1999), are
outlined below:
1. Minimizes negative social, cultural, and
environmental impacts,
2. Maximizes involvement in, and economic
benets to, host communities,
3. Maximizes revenues for reinvestment in
conservation,
4. Educates both visitors and local people of
the importance of conserving natural and
cultural resources, and
5. Delivers a quality experience to tourists.
Presently, the Botswana Tourism Board is developing
a grading system that it will apply across the tourism
industry to formalize classication of a camp or lodge
as an ecotourism venture (Botswana Department of
Tourism 2008).
ECOTOURISM IN THE NORTH: THE OKAVANGO,
SAVUTI, AND CHOBE
The ecotourism industry within Botswana is diverse
and includes three types of camps: permanent camps
(present all year round), seasonal camps (only open in the
dry season, the peak tourism period), and mobile camps
(which move around with the guests daily or every few
days). Tourism in Botswana includes a range of activi-
ties such as walking safaris (i.e., tourists walk between
a combination of either mobile, season, or permanent
camps), boating and mokoro poling (a type of canoe),
elephant-back and horseback safaris, quad biking, game
ights, and self-drive tours. Other activities include bird-
ing safaris, shing, and general photographic, hunting,
archeological (stone tolls, pottery bushmen paintings,
caves) tours, and cultural trips (in particular to visit the
San Bushmen).
The Okavango, Savuti, and Chobe comprise the main
tourism destinations in Botswana. The Okavango Delta in
Ngam iland is a Ra msa r Site (a wetla nd sit e of internation -
al importance) and the premier ecotourism destination in
Botswana (ODMP 2007). Although the Okavango sits on
Kalahari sands, it falls outside the Kalahari Desert due to
the large seasonal inux of water into the delta from the
Okavango River, which arises in Angola (McCarthy and
Ellery 1998). Grassland habitats are dominant within nine
of 42 vegetation zones in the Okavango. These habitats
are important for the survival of many mammal, bird,
insect, and reptile species that occur in the delta (ODPM
2007). Ecotourism in the Ngamiland region focuses on
either the formally protected Moremi Game Reserve or
the wildlife management areas on either government- or
community-owned land. A relatively small amount of
ecotourism in the district also occurs on privately owned
land (ODMP 2007).
In recent years the government has paid particular
attention to tourism’s potential to stimulate sustain-
able economic development in remote and rural areas.
Community-based natural resources management was
TABLE 1
TRENDS IN SOME KEY SPECIES OF WILDLIFE POPULATIONS
WITHIN THE KALAHARI ENVIRONMENT, BOTSWANA, 1979–1994
Species 1978 1994 Comments
Eland 18,832 11,757 Population stable. Concentrated in two separate groups: Central Kala-
hari Game Reserve and Kalahari Transfrontier Park
Gemsbok 71,423 85,368 Stable to increasing population. Conned to protected areas
Hartebeest 293,462 44,737 Drastic decline, but population is still widespread
Springbok 101,408 67,777 Sustained decline. The population is concentrated along pan systems.
Wildebeest 315, 058 17,934 Drastic decline in population, but is still widespread
Zebra 100,295 20,863 Decline conned to Makgadikgadi system, otherwise stable and wide-
spread in northern conservation area
Ecotourism in Biodiversity and Grassland Conservation in Botswana • Glyn Maude and Richard P. Reading 115
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
introduced in Botswana in 1989 by the Natural Resources
Management Project, located within the Department
of Wildlife and National Parks and funded by the U.S.
Agency for International Development.
The community-owned area of NG/18 is an example
of an Okavango district with an ecotourism venture that
represents Botswana-type ecotourism. Within NG/18,
the Khwai Development Trust (representing the com-
munity) formed a joint-venture partnership with private
safari operators and hunters (Khwai Development
Trust 2007). The government created NG/18 when it
established the Moremi Game Reserve in April 1963.
The baSarwa, or San, people inhabited this area for
centuries, but now mostly live in Khwai village. The
village has expanded with immigrants from the nearby
vi lla ge s of Sankuy u and Mababe. By ea rly 20 09 tourism
operators in partnership with the Khwai Development
Trust had built two eight-bed camps in the hunting zone
of NG/18. In addition, the area has two sixteen-bed
photographic camps and several camping sites without
facilities that private individuals or mobile tourism op-
erators can book. Tourism activities in the area are diverse
and include game viewing, bird watching, mokoro poling
trips, walking trails, night drives using spotlights, visit-
ing the Khwai village, and general enjoyment of the bush
environment. The Khwai Development Trust generated the
following income from these various ventures in 2007:
Income from hunting concession: $181,000
Land rentals from joint-venture partnerships: $21,000
Hunting rentals of camps: $35,000
Photographic camping sites: $83,000
Totals: US$320,000
From this income, the government receives a 10% conces-
sion tax and the North West District Council receives a
4% tax on land rentals.
Tourism directly employs 20% of the community.
Households also generate income by creating and selling
grass basketry to tourists (18 households), making and
selling traditional beer (three households), bead making
(one household), collecting and selling rewood to tour-
ists (two households), and selling water lilies (one house-
hold). The Khwai Development Trust spends some of the
revenue it generates on community benets (Table 2).
Other benets to the community are traditional dancers
sponsorships, social assistance for community members
(e.g., ambulance transportation, mobile clinic, and work-
shops), and access to radio communications between the
village and the nearest big town, Maun.
In Botswana 135,000 people work in 93 other commu-
nity-based organizations using a model similar to that em-
ployed by the Khwai community. These community-based
organizations are spread over almost 150 villages and 10
districts (ODMP 2006). Since the early 1990s, community-
based organizations have generated revenues totaling
US$2.67 million from commercial activities and a similar
amount from subsistence activities. Within community-
based organizations, trophy hunting accounts for almost
three quarters of the commercial revenue, which is a con-
siderably greater share than for Ngamiland. Ngamiland
and Chobe district organizations earn the highest in-
comes from community-based natural resources manage-
ment in Botswana due to their proximity to national parks
and the abundance and variety of natural resources they
contain. The hunting industry is largely being phased out
in the Ngamiland region in favor of more ecotourism, but
it is possibly being retained in the more marginal areas of
the Kalahari and Central districts, where the economic
viability of photographic tourism is weaker.
TABLE 2
EXPENDITURE OF INCOME GENERATED FROM
TOURISM IN THE KHWAI COMMUNITY
BY THE KHWAI DEVELOPMENT TRUST
Expenditure Amount (US$)
Education fund for training local people 18,333
Housing for the aged 18,333
Kghotla (traditional community court)
development
10,000
Promoting basketmaking cooperatives 6,666
Village facilities development (toilets,
water provision, etc.)
5,000
Interest groups promoting natural
resource use
5,000
Sports sponsorship fund 4,167
Community allowance 1,000
Water reticulations and toilet
development
833
Funeral fund that provides for each
deceased person
500
(per deceased
person)
Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010116
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
ECOTOURISM IN THE MAKGADIKGADI AND THE
KALAHARI
A private venture run by Uncharted Africa Safari
Company operates an ecotourism model that works on
state or government land within the Makgadikgadi region
of the Kalahari in CT/11 (Fig. 2). CT/11 forms part of the
largest continuous, open grassland system in Botswana
within a region in which the “big ve”—elephant, rhino,
buffalo, lion, and leopard—are largely absent, apart from
lions, which are rarely seen (Brooks 2005). There are
three camps located within CT/11, all owned or run by
one operator, Uncharted Africa Safari Company. One
camp is permanent (Jack’s Camp) and the other two (San
Camp and Camp Kalahari) are open only during the peak
tourism season between May and October.
Tourist activities generally do not include game drives
but instead involve quad biking trips on the salt pans,
dr ives explor ing the desert that focus on information about
small mammals, birds, and plant life in the region, night
drives using spotlights, and visits to a famous Baobab tree
in the area called Chapman’s. Explorers and hunters in
Africa such as David Livingstone traversed the Makgadik-
gadi salt pans with ox wagons and camped at Chapman’s
Baobab (Ross 2002). Tourists walk on the salt pans looking
for stone tools, spend time with a group of habituated meer-
kats (Suricate suricate), and visit brown hyena den sites
when they have cubs. They also go on cultural walks with
bushmen trackers and visit the local “cattle post” homes of
traditional Kalanga subsistence farmers.
The presence of ecotourism within CT/11 generates
income for the local community through employment
and visits to cattle posts. Further, it generates income to
Makgadikgadi National Park, the federal government,
and local communities through lease fees. The presence
of tourism in the area also acts as a deterrent to poach-
ing, as suspected poaching incidences are reported by
the tourism operator to and acted on by the Department
of Wildlife and National Parks. As a consequence of this
ecotourism and the income it generates, the land is pri-
marily devoted to wildlife, and so the important grassland
habitat and associated Kalahari biodiversity of the region
are conserved. The absence of ecotourism in the region
would likely result in the primary land use in CT/11 be-
ing changed to cattle farming, which would have a det-
rimental impact on the grassland habitat and the region’s
biodiversity (Gardner 1950; Jones 2000).
In another part of the Kalahari, in northwestern Bo-
tswana, a community-based organization in NG/4 also has
developed its own special model of cultural ecotourism
(Cgae Cgae Tihabololo Trust 2001). Income generated is
passed to the community and used to develop the village.
A community trust runs along lines similar to that in the
Khwai area, although revenue is generated by tourists
coming either to hunt or experience their unique culture
(Tobias 1978). The Janquasi San Bushmen who have
inhabited the Xais Xais region have turned to cultural
tourism in an effort to keep their culture alive and gener-
ate income (Cgae Cgae Tihabololo Trust 2008). Tourists,
accompanied by a mobile operator, camp in close proxim-
ity to the San Bushmen in the Xais Xais region and typi-
cally spend three or four nights there. They spend time
with a group of 10 to 14 traditional San people. None of
the activities involve game viewing or bird watching, but
instead the whole experience is oriented toward spending
time with a group or band of traditional San Bushmen,
parts of whose ancient culture and lifestyle remain intact.
A typical day involves walking, hunting, and gathering
plants with the group in the morning and spending late
afternoon in the bushmen camp learning about their cul-
ture. Afternoon sessions include watching San men make
spears, digging and dancing sticks, and traditional bows
and poison-tip arrows. The bushmen demonstrate tradi-
tional cooking of food gathered or hunted during the day,
and tourists can taste the meals they prepare. The food
varies, and includes insects, plants, honey, birds’ eggs,
and small mammals such as porcupine (Atherurus afri-
canus) or springhare (Pedetes capensis). On some special
trips the group hunts larger mammals such as eland.
Tourists can watch San women make traditional jew-
elry from beads and ostrich eggs. Other San people dem-
onstrate traditional games, some of which are hundreds
of years old. The older San ladies tell traditional stories,
and tourists can ask them questions about their culture.
The San people also demonstrate traditional dancing that
has remained unchanged for hundreds of years, and on
one night they trance-dance late into the night. The trance
dance is an important ceremony in which traditional heal-
ers enter a trance and heal their clan spiritually and physi-
cally, if a member is ill (Barnard 1992). Interested guests
also get taken by the San people to visit an extensive cave
system that can be explored inside and has thousands of
bats (Cgae Cgae Tihabololo Trust 2002).
The individual San people who take part get paid a
daily rate by the safari operator, and an additional amount
is paid to the community trust for camping and use of the
area (Cgae Cgae Tihabololo Trust 2001). This cultural
tourism project provides income to individuals and the
community; it also helps protect the wildlife that inhab-
its NG/4 by keeping wildlife as the primary land use in
Ecotourism in Biodiversity and Grassland Conservation in Botswana • Glyn Maude and Richard P. Reading 117
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
Plate 9. Plains Zebras (Equus quagga) on the grasslands of Makgadikgadi National Park, Botswana. Photo by Richard Reading.
Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010118
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
the region. There are plans to erect, in partnership with
a private safari operator, a permanent-camp eighteen-
bed lodge within NG/4 close to the San people that will
generate more income for the community (Cgae Cgae
Tihabololo Trust 2008).
BOTSWANA TO THE GREAT PLAINS
The ecotourism industry in Botswana is diverse and
exploits a range of activities other than large-mammal
“game viewing.” Private protected areas also play an
increasingly important role within the ecotourism indus-
try of Botswana and in particular within the Kalahari
(Botswana Ministry of Lands and Housing 2008). Many
private landowners in grassland-dominated systems in
which “big game” are absent successfully converted from
livestock ranching to ecotourism. Cattle producers on
private protected areas have experienced limitations to
efcient beef production and have developed other forms
of income—in particular, but not exclusively, ecotourism
(Botswana Ministry of Lands and Housing 2008). These
private protected areas vary in size from 60 km2 up to
600 km2, with ecotourism taking many forms, such as
photographic, cultural, and archeological. Other ven-
tures have included ostrich (Struthio camelus) farming,
crocodile and sh farming, game farming, hunting, and
collecting and selling natural resources products such as
honey, wild fruits, and medicinal plants. True ecotourism
models minimally impact the environment in which they
operate.
Within the Great Plains, agriculture is by far the
dominant income generator (Cunfer 2005). Yet the
number of farms is decreasing and the size of farms is
increasing (Parton et al. 2007). Job opportunities are
decreasing and rural populations are dropping (Parton et
al. 2007). Although plenty of recreational activities exist
in the grassland areas of the Great Plains, from riding on
horseback to hunting pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra
americana), there is potential for a more sophisticated and
protable form of ecotourism. Although the Great Plains
does not have the same number of “large charismatic
wildlife species” living in such pristine wilderness envi-
ronments as Botswana, nonetheless it would appear that
there is potential to further develop protable ecotourism
in the region. If the indigenous wildlife in the region can
be preserved and then propagated and the vast natural
ecosystems retained and recovered, an ecotourism model
that suits the Great Plains can be developed to its full po-
tential. Ecotourism might provide an important support
for conserving the region.
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Great Plains Research Vol. 20 No. 1, 2010120
© 2010 Center for G reat Plain s Studies, Universit y of Nebraska–Lincoln
The Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and Great Plains Research
wish to thank the
Center for Grassland Studies
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
for its generous support of the publication of this Special Issue on
“Saving the World’s Grasslands”
The Center’s mission is to implement focused, interdisciplinary research, educational and service programs and activities
that emphasize the role of grasslands as a natural resource and conservation measure and that enhance the efciency, prot-
ability, sustainability, and aesthetic value of grasslands, wetlands and turfs. The Center offers two undergraduate majors:
Grazing Livestock Systems and PGA Golf Management.
Dr. Martin Massengale, Director
203 Keim Hall P.O. Box 830953
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE 68583-0953
Phone: 402-472-4101; Fax: 402-472-4104;
E-mail: grassland@unl.edu
www.grassland.unl.edu
