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10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS<br />
This study has attempted to value the Okavango Delta and the Ramsar site as a whole within the<br />
context of total economic value which includes direct use values, indirect use (or ecological services)<br />
values, option and non-use values. Option and non-use values have not been included in this<br />
analysis for budgetary and time reasons. The values are made with the intention that they should be,<br />
as far as possible, compatible with the national accounts of Botswana and the natural resource<br />
accounting procedures being practised by the Department of <strong>Environmental</strong> Affairs. Values have also<br />
been made for the whole Ramsar site, which includes some surrounding drylands as well as the delta<br />
wetlands, as well as for just the wetlands component of the site (i.e. Okavango Delta). Values are<br />
estimated for 2005 in Pula, which at the time was worth US$0.19.<br />
Direct use values associated with the Okavango Delta Ramsar site include those generated by nonconsumptive<br />
tourism, hunting tourism, household livestock production, household crop production,<br />
and household harvesting and processing of natural resource products. The values are<br />
overwhelmingly dominated by those generated by tourism, which takes place in the central zone, and<br />
which contributes P401 million annually to the GNP. Eighty percent of the tourism direct value is from<br />
non-consumptive activities. Ninety percent of tourism is attributable to the actual wetland within the<br />
Ramsar site,<br />
Agricultural pursuits take place mainly in the northern, western and southern zones, and contribute<br />
P42 million annually to the GNP. Ninety three percent of this is from livestock, and only 3% of it is<br />
derived from the wetland itself. Household harvesting and processing of natural resources also takes<br />
place in the north west and south, and contributes P29 million annually to GNP. Fifty three percent of<br />
this derived from the wetland.<br />
Indirect use values or ecosystem services in the form of carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge,<br />
water purification, wildlife refuge functions and provision of scientific and educational value, are<br />
provided by the Ramsar site. These were estimated to amount to some P230 million, dominated by<br />
the carbon sequestration and wildlife refuge functions. The indirect use value of the delta is estimated<br />
to be P199 million. Estimates for these values are difficult to make and are thus fairly uncertain.<br />
As stated, option and non-use values were excluded from the study. Given the high profile of the<br />
Okavango Delta, these values are expected to be very high internationally. These values require<br />
specific study. With appropriate market mechanisms, they could be captured to contribute<br />
significantly to Botswana’s income. Planning for the delta needs to ensure that these values are<br />
preserved.<br />
The direct use values generated by the Ramsar site also have a wider impact on Botswana’s<br />
economy through the multiplier. A modified social accounting matrix (SAM) model of the Botswana<br />
economy was used to determine that for every P1.00 that direct uses contribute to the GNP, another<br />
P1.50 in GNP contribution is generated in the wider economy through demand created in backward<br />
linkages. Thus, the Ramsar site has a total annual impact on the GNP amounting to P1.2 billion, or<br />
2.6% of the total national GNP. Eighty one percent of this total impact is contributed by the wetland.<br />
The multiplier effect is higher for formal tourism sector activities than for household agriculture and<br />
natural resource use. However, policies aimed at reducing the fairly high import component of<br />
tourism linkages, might increase the multiplier effects.<br />
The Ramsar site contributes to livelihoods of its people through profits (both cash and in-kind) from<br />
agricultural and natural resource use, through wages and salaries in the tourism sector and from<br />
rentals and royalties in the tourism sector. Poor households in the study area benefit from profits<br />
amounting to P99 million, from wages and salaries amounting to P102 million, and from rentals and<br />
royalties amounting to an estimated P25 million. The wetland contributes less than 3% of profits, but<br />
nearly all the wages and royalty benefits. Of the direct contribution made to the national GNP by the<br />
Ramsar site (P472 million per annum), 31% accrues to low income elements of society. In the total<br />
(both direct and indirect) contribution made to the national GNP by the Ramsar site, this figure is<br />
lower, being some 18%.<br />
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