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

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7.2.6
Since the Fish Protection Act (1975) was enacted, no regulatory measures
have been put in place as provided for in the Act, although commercial off­
take has increased dramatically, particularly in the Okavango River system;
Presently, access to fish resources is open to all persons regardless of
nationality, with no comprehensive monitoring of fish stocks and off-take
amounts;
The open access nature of fisheries has led to varying levels of conflict
between subsistence, commercial and sport users;
There is little or no management consideration given to wildlife species that
depend on fish (such as otters and many bird species); and
The possible development of commercial fish farming needs scrutiny as the
introduction of aquaculture species into any river system has the potential to
harm wild fish stocks (Republic of Botswana CBNRM Policy, 2000).
Plant Resources in the Okavango Delta
There are between only 2600 and 2800 species of flora in Botswana, which makes
the country floristically poor. The level offloral endemism is placed at 17, and hence
Botswana is reported to have the lowest level of floral endemism in the southern
African sub-region. This is well illustrated by the fact that it has a meagre eight
indigenous species of aloes even though it is situated in the African sub-continent
where more aloes are found than anywhere else in the world (Republic of Botswana
Environmental Statistics, 2000).
The Okavango Delta and Chobe River regions are the richest flora areas in the
country. As Table 7.8 shows, the Okavango Delta alone supports at least 55 species
of trees, 41 species of shrubs and woody plants, 105 species of aquatic herbs and
ferns, and over 50 species of grasses and sedges (Republic of Botswana
Environmental Statistics, 2000).
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