CHOBE RIVER FRONT RECOVERS AS TOURISM ACTIVITIES COMES TO A HALT
PICTURE OF THE WEEK
An African fish Eagle captured in a flight in Okavango Delta.Photo by Dennis Smith
CHOBE RIVER FRONT RECOVERS AS TOURISM ACTIVITIES COMES TO A HALT
by Calistus Bosaletswe
Boat cruise congestion in Chobe river is one of the activities that are feared to be detrimental to the river in Chobe river front.Picture by Solomon Chinyeka
.University of Botswana Professor Joseph Mbaiwas ays its only temporary due to zero tourism activities
.Mbaiwa says COVID 19 is a blessing to the degraded Chobe river front which is currently recovering….but
.A study warn that the ecological nature of the park is compromised as result of tourism activities
Chobe river front takes shape to its natural habitat as traffic from tourists activities that degraded the Chobe river front comes to a halt due to COVID-19 travel restrictions worldwide.
Chobe National Park which encompasses the Chober river front attract close to 300 000 visitors in some years.
Pundits are of the view that the travel restrictions which has led to cancellation of the tourism packages is expected to reduce tourism activities that had negative environmental impacts in the Chobe river water front.
“Remember this is temporary. Activities are likely to resume as soon as soon as travel restrictions are lifted worldwide. Vehicles will be back on the roads, tourists will be coming and the river front will be under pressure from tourism activities,” said University of Botswana Okavango Research Centre Director , Professor Joseph Mbaiwa.
Mbaiwa is not in dispute that zero tourism activities will spare the area from environmental degradation.
He posits that things will back where there were before. Mbaiwa is advocating for decongested strategy that the government had once proposed.
He was of the view that there is a need for a strong policy and strategy based on sustainable principles as opposed to COVID-19 which comes once off.
“ We need to determine the number of boats that are allowed in the Chobe river . For a day,a month and a year using Limits of Acceptable Change principles which are based on sustainability principle,”said Mbaiwa.
A research study titled “Stakeholder perceptions on the environmental impacts of wildlife-based tourism at the Chobe National Park River Front” has attributed tourism activities such as mobile safari tour safari’s ,lodges and boat activities to negative environmental impacts.
Two researchers , Emmanuel Mogende and Naomi Moswete argued in their research paper that the ecological nature of the park is compromised as result of tourism activities.
The paper which was published in Botswana Journal of African Studies also corroborated fears among the tourism players that vehicle congestion, deepening of treks, boat congestion and dust has reduced nature experience and satisfaction by tourists.
The paper argues that it is evident that the ecological sustainability of the park is compromised and suggests that there is a looming problem at the park that deserves to be investigated further.
It further state that the increase in tourist visitor numbers can be attributed to the popularity and attractiveness of Botswana’s tourism destinations.
The study also stated that , “Due to the aesthetic beauty and naturalness of most tourists’ sites in northern Botswana, there is likelihood that tourist areas may become degraded due to the high number of visitors, and this may reduce the quality of tourist experience,”.
It also noted that the congestion at Chobe river front has been attributed to a tourists arrivals since Botswana is considered a popular destination for wildlife and safari tourism for international nature-based tourists.
The study also found out that there was crowding caused by tourist vehicles which was observed and experienced along the Chobe River Route and at the River Front viewing spot. The study also noted that the congestion of boats during cruises was perceived as a negative ecological impediment to boater’s experience.
The study revealed that the tour operators usually violate the park code of conduct which emphasise that only four cars should be allowed per sighting with a maximum of five minutes spent by each vehicle.
The paper stated that the behavior has a potential to negatively affect the ecological integrity of the park since road tracks are used continually without adequate time to recover from increased traffic.
“I've been working hard to master the art of photography.This is one of the beauties of Xigera.Please do not cancel your trip: postpone and travel at a later stage,”says TJ Lesifi.Photo:Tj Lesifi
Against All Odds: Safari company turns to agritourism as pandemic deal a blow to tourism
by Calistus Bosaletswe
.Car and Guides shifted to agritourism as COVID 19 travel restriction hit hard on tourism
.Save employees jobs in the process and offer accommodation at the farm
.Horticulture produce sold to locals and shops in the tourism town
Cars and Guides-a Safari company in a small tourist town in Kasane that used to offer international tourists day trips to Victoria Falls, boat cruise in Chobe river and game drives in Chobe National Park turns to agritourism amidst COVID 19 international travel ban.
The travel ban dealt a blow to most of the tourism business in Botswana.
Bird eye view of agrotourism business located in Lesoma village a stone away from tourism town of Kasane.Photo:Coutersy of Cars and Guides.
Cars and Guides owner, Mogotsi Ben shifted from tourism to agritourism where he started a horticulture production and accommodation services at his farm that he acquired few years back but remained idle.
Ben moved to horticulture production at the height of COVID-19 in April last year in an area that host more than 7 500 marauding elephants.
“I discussed the idea of shifting to agriculture with employees since there was nothing to do following the travel ban. They also bought the idea and we started preparing the land for horticulture production.
I am happy that we didn’t lose anyone as the tourism business arm which was our core business closed. All of employees are here and they are happy to be experiencing something new,” said Ben.
Ben is already selling his vegetable products to shops in the tourism town of Kasane while he also offers accommodation facilities to his clients.
“They get to experience all the process in horticulture production as we wait for tourism to bounce back. I have developed interest in the business and I will not leave the business to collapse even when the tourism bounce back.
I will bring my clients to come and have an experience here,” said Ben.
Horticulture production ongoing
With the assistance of Elephant Without Borders (EWB) to deter elephant’s incursions in his farm, Ben adopted sustainable solar powered strobe lights barriers and solar electric fence.
EWB has helped many farmers to adopt different techniques to deter crop raiding elephants in Botswana which host the largest remaining African elephant’s population.
Different techniques such as solar power strobes and solar electric fence are used to keep elephants at bay and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
A bumper harvest
A study titled “Panic at the disco: solar-powered strobe light barriers reduce field incursion by African elephants Loxodonta Africana in Chobe District, Botswana” confirms that the likely to enter fields with solar-powered strobe barrier lights.
Accommodation facilities offered at the farm.
EU EQUIP OKAVANGO TRIPERTITE SHARED WATER RESOURCES RIVER MONITORING TECH
The European Union equipped Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM)-an organisation tasked with monitoring Okavango river basin shared water resources among three countries-Angola,Botswana and Namibia with a high technology equipment to monitor and protect the Okavango.
The EU Ambassador, Jan Sadek and OKACOM Executive Secretary, Phera Ramoeli signed a document for the handover over the high technology equipment to the three member states in Gaborone last week.
The donated equipment comprised of eight sets of hydro-meteorological equipment for riverside stations.
Four riverboats with spare outboard engines that will be used to traverse the river mainstream were also done along with a wide variety of water quality and ecological monitoring equipment.
Other equipment’s were comprised of two double-hulled sediment survey boats and sediment coring equipment.
A drone for aerial surveying of the river basin with three pilots trained to fly it were also part of the donation to OKACOM .
A depository of satellite images of the fluctuating water surface in the Okavango over the last 35 years was also availed to the three governments through OKACOM.
The equipment will allow OKACOM to gather different streams of data like water quality and temperature, river levels and flows, ecosystem surveys, and historical patterns of droughts and floods from sediment analysis. Collected from water, land and space, this data will feed into an EU-supported Decision Support System which will crunch the data to provide science-based recommendations to decision-makers in Angola, Botswana and Namibia.
A Specialised hydrological software, customised for OKACOM,high-speed internet equipment and services and two four-wheel drive vehicles and sedan were part of the gesture that was given to OKACOM to monitor the basin which support the riverine community.
“The Okavango delta is a biodiversity hotspot, a World Heritage Site and one of the most iconic wilderness areas on the planet.
But the Okavango basin is under threat from pollution, increasing water extraction, deforestation, climate change, and potential oil drilling. We trust that OKACOM’s Decision Support System will help protect the river, its priceless flora and fauna, and the half a million people who depend on it for their livelihoods, from these threats,” said EU Ambassador Jan Sadek.
Aside from the equipment it procured, the European Union funded the construction of modern office spaces and a state-of-the-art videoconferencing facility within OKACOM’s building, which officials toured during today’s Handover Event.
The value of all supplies and works the EU procured for OKACOM is €2 million out of a total budget of €6 million for the 5-year EU Okavango Transboundary Water Management Programme, which is also providing technical assistance to OKACOM though an international team of top-notch experts, as well as a grant to OKACOM that pays for a team of full-time staff.
Isolated rhino and elephants poaching incidents -Senyatso
The government through the Wildlife and National Parks Department (DWNP) says the killing of species of such as rhinos and elephants are isolated cases.
The government refuted claims circulating on social media that rhino poaching in Okavango Delta was threatening to wipe out the remaining rhinos in the wild in Botswana.
Once a haven for rhino, the country has seen an increase on rhino poaching in the past three years.
DWNP Director, Kabelo Senyatso said the government was on the right track in protecting key species such as rhino and elephants.
Senyatso said that currently the anti-poaching unit comprised of different security organs continue to protect key wildlife species such as rhino and elephants.
“While isolated cases of rhino and elephants continue to be reported, government’s anti- poaching units are bearing fruits and the conservation status of both rhinos and elephants remain positive in the country,”said Senyatso .
