the role of tourism in natural resource management in the okavango ...

government also provides 85 percent of the fencing costs of a farmer's field. Studies
indicate that government support for agricultural production, especially livestock, has
resulted in a significant increase in the country's cattle herd (White, 1993; Mbaiwa,
1999).
This increase in the cattle herd is coupled with a decline in wildlife species over the
past twenty or so years. This is partly the result of the expansion of cattle farming
into wildlife areas through government subsidies for drilling of boreholes for watering
livestock. This penetration of livestock into wildlife areas tends to push wild animals
into increasingly smaller 'sanctuaries' where their populations remain in constant
threat of deterioration (Mbaiwa, 1999).
The encroachment of livestock into wildlife areas is also coupled with the erection of
veterinary fences in Botswana, which block wildlife migratory routes. The veterinary
fences trap and kill wild animals, or prevent wildlife from migrating to water sources
especially during the dry season, leading to high wildlife mortality rates. According to
Perkins and Ringrose (1996), these veterinary cordon fences, which continue to be
erected in order to maintain access to European beef markets, have contributed
significantly to the decline in wildlife numbers. As such, the decline in Botswana's
wildlife resource is directly correlated, amongst other factors, to agricultural
production in the country (Mbaiwa, 1999).
5.4.2.14 Veterinary Cordon Fences
Due to the prominence of the cattle industry and the large socio-economic value it
holds, the Department of Animal Health and Production is preoccupied with
protecting Botswana's cattle herds from various diseases, including the highly
contagious Foot and Mouth Disease and Chronic Bovine Pleuropneumonia (Kalikwe,
1997). It is believed, that wildlife infected with the Foot and Mouth Disease virus
pose a constant threat to disease-free cattle herds as there is always the possibility
of inter species contamination, such as between buffalo and cattle (Kalikwe, 1997).
Botswana is a very flat country, lacking natural boundaries such as large rivers or
mountain ranges. It also uses the tradition of communal grazing areas, where cattle
are allowed to graze freely. These two factors make it almost impossible to control
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