Okavango Delta Management Plan - Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

employed. Cross-border re-invasion from Namibia or Angola where healthy Tsetse
populations still exist could negate all Tsetse fly eradication efforts.
The fences provide boundaries for three disease control zones in Ngamiland but
controversies surround the utility and effectiveness of these fences. Major issues of concern
relate to both environmental and social issues. Related to this there is the potential for
increased predation as wildlife are forced to concentrate in certain areas and exacerbation
of water shortages during drought years.
3.3.8 WASTE MANAGEMENT
The resource limitations and capacity constraints within NWDC make it difficult to
adequately service all recognised villages in the ODRS. In addition to these, there are 478
unrecognised settlements which do not qualify for such services and are also generating
waste.
Mechanisms employed for management of waste generated in the <strong>Delta</strong>, e.g. at tourism
businesses such as lodges and campsites, is determined by the lease agreement signed
between concessionaires and the Tawana Land Board. There are inadequate monitoring
mechanisms in place to determine if such agreements are being honoured and how waste is
actually being disposed.
Although a North West District Waste <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> was completed in 2002, it did not
address the unique and complex issues of waste management in the <strong>Delta</strong>.
Litter is a serious concern in the ODRS, and the major difficulty is to change attitudes of
people to refrain from this bad habit.
There is a serious worry about sewage and grey water disposal from houseboats.
3.4 EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
The ODMP requires that the aspirations of each stakeholder should be known to each other
and the exchange of information organised systematically. Negotiations will need to start
and trade-offs must be made. These processes require an extensive communication
programme for the implementation of the ODMP.
Information gathering and communication methods traditionally used tend to be ineffective
and often fall short of expectations in terms of their inability to accurately target desired
groups; difficulties in adequately conveying the intended message; presenting different
messages about the same issue by different institutions; the time taken for the message to
reach the target groups; inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the intended or actual content;
the inappropriateness of the communication and information exchange methods used; and
difficulties in ensuring and achieving information flow from “bottom to top”.
The vast nature of the ODRS, let alone of the whole <strong>Okavango</strong> River Basin (ORB) that is
equally the target of the ODMP communication strategy, and the unique problems these
areas experience in terms of difficulties in physical and remote (radio, telephone, email,
internet etc.) access, present enormous problems in maintaining effective dialogue and
implementing the communication strategy. This is compounded by the huge diversity of
views and opinions among stakeholders, which range from local communities to
international governments and include the tourism private sector operators and tourists
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