Okavango Delta Management Plan - Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

The central zone is largely delineated on the basis of the buffalo fence and has wildlife as
the main land use. This zone encompasses most of the wetland area, and there is very little
upland area. While dominated by the <strong>Okavango</strong> <strong>Delta</strong>, it also includes the Linyanti-Chobe
wetland areas on the north eastern border of the study area. There are very few people
living in this zone, in a few scattered villages as well as in association with some of the
larger tourist camps.
2.7.1 DIRECT USE VALUES
In the <strong>Delta</strong>, direct use values are generated through crop production, livestock grazing,
fishing, wild plant use and hunting. They are also generated through consumptive
(hunting) and non-consumptive (wildlife viewing) tourism. Rather than separating
consumptive and non-consumptive value, as conventionally done within the total economic
value framework, household use (largely consumptive) and tourism use (both consumptive
and non-consumptive) have been separated for ease of analysis. All values are in Pula for
2005 (in that year 1 Pula was worth 0,19 US$)
2.7.1.1 Household use of natural resources
In the <strong>Delta</strong>, direct use values are generated through crop production, livestock grazing,
fishing, wild plant use and hunting. They are also generated through consumptive
(hunting) and non-consumptive (wildlife viewing) tourism. Rather than separating
consumptive and non-consumptive value, as conventionally done within the total economic
value framework, household use (largely consumptive) and tourism use (both consumptive
and non-consumptive) have been separated for ease of analysis. The values for direct use
activities were estimated in private and economic terms (see below). These activities,
resulting from the use of the delta’s and the wetland’s resources, contribute directly to the
national product of Botswana. They also impact on the broader national product indirectly
through the multiplier effect. These multipliers and the indirect impact were also calculated
separately using the social accounting matrix (SAM) model for Botswana. Selected direct
use values provided in tables below, do not include the broader direct impacts. All values
are in Pula for 2005 (in that year 1 Pula was worth 0,19 US$)
2.7.1.1 Household use of natural resources
Households in the study area traditionally derive their livelihoods from a variety of sources
(Rashem,1988):
• gathering, hunting and fishing,
• livestock
• arable farming
• crafts, and
• the formal sector.
This multi-sectoral livelihood system allows households to spread risk, so that there is
something to fall back on in years of crop failure or livestock death. The livestock sector is
by far the most important contributor to rural subsistence and cash income, although there
is some concern that it cannot maintain this status due to population growth and
degradation of pasture lands (Rashem 1988).
Table 2-14 shows the direct private and economic values associated with household
agricultural activities in the <strong>Ramsar</strong> Site and the wetland. In the table, gross private value
refers to the annual aggregate gross value of sales and own consumption for the activity,
measured in market prices. Net private value refers to the annual aggregate profits for the
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