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In the natural resource accounting framework, the Ramsar site and the wetland were treated in the
form of land or ecosystem accounts. The direct use values measured in this study represent the
production or flow accounts. The asset value, measured as the 2005 value of the expected future
flow of resource rents from the land, was estimated at P3.9 billion for the Ramsar site and P3.4 billion
for the wetland.
We examined the likely effects of three future land use options on the direct use values. These
involved the currently proposed land use plan, a second option where the emphasis was put on the
expansion of agricultural lands, and a third option where the emphasis was put on protection of the
natural assets of the delta. The currently proposed land use plan, which gives emphasis to
complementary land use and wise use of the resources, emerged as the most economically efficient.
This plan thus appears optimal for the Ramsar site. The likely effects of external factors, involving
water extraction plans and climate change predictions were tested in two further scenarios. These
factors, particularly climate change, will reduce the value of the Ramsar site. Attention should be
given in planning to any possible ways of ameliorating these effects.
Management of the Okavango Delta and the Ramsar Site in general will need to strike a balance
between meeting the needs of the people living in and around the delta and generating its important
contribution to the national economy. People living in the study area derive roughly equal benefits
from natural resources and from tourism, the latter being slightly higher. However, there is an
important difference in the form that these benefits take. Natural resources provide subsistence value
which contributes to peoples’ livelihoods, as well as some cash income. Perhaps more importantly,
they have the capacity to provide a safety-net for households that suffer shocks and provide a riskspreading
mechanism for poor households that are vulnerable to the vagaries of environmental
variability. Tourism, on the other hand, generates hard, reliable cash income to households, providing
the type of income that most households aspire to having. Thus both aspects are important. Tourism
also makes a substantial contribution to Botswana’s GNP, which in turn provides more revenue and
social security to households all over the country. In light of the above findings, it is recommended
that future management of the Okavango Delta is centred on ensuring the sustainability of current
resource use by households so that they can continue to provide the livelihood and other social
benefits into the future, and enhancing the value of the delta for low impact – high value tourism
through maintaining the extent and integrity of the conserved area. The enormous value of tourism in
the Okavango Delta could be turned to greater advantage if policy aimed to reduce the import
component of tourism and to expand the links between tourism and development through CBNRM.
Given the massive potential influence of changes in freshwater inflow into the delta on the capacity to
generate both household and tourism benefits, and the potential effects of climate change in
exacerbating any impacts of upstream water abstraction, it is essential that Botswana works to ensure
adequate flows in future through international agreements.
Finally, we recommend that there is ongoing research on ecosystem functioning of the delta that will
be able to inform our understanding of the value of ecosystem services and the impacts of finer scale
management decisions. Research is needed on tourism in order to understand the mechanisms of
demand and supply and the impacts of various policy decisions. In addition, more research is
required on the non-use value generated by the delta in order to appreciate the impact of changes in
ecosystem health of the delta on the international community.
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