Botswana fishermen want tougher line on tourists

Unregulated tourism is endangering Botswana’s Okavango Delta, local fishermen have claimed.

Soasiko Njwaki, chairperson of the local fishermen's association, is calling for increased regulation of tourism and the use of local guides to protect the delta’s fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of fishermen who live and work there.

Njwaki is quoted in The Guardian newspaper as saying that waves from tourists’ motorboats upset the local fishermen’s traditional canoes. "They don't respect us. When they come in motorboats they don't slow down for fishermen who are using dugout canoes (makoro). They also cut our nets. We have a further problem of houseboats. People pitch up to camp and throw their waste in the river,” he is quoted as saying.

Njwaki says he has appealed to government bodies for help controlling tourism in the Okavango Delta but has so far received no support.

Dr Nkobi Moleele, of Botswana University’s Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre, which monitors the delta, says it’s a complex issue: “I don't think there's a problem of too many tourists or how they behave, but there is a problem with our system.

“We don't know the numbers in these open-access areas because it's not controlled. That's the problem.”

Earlier this year, Botswana invested £8.6m into promoting tourism, including launching a website in the US for the first time. Tourism is the country’s second biggest industry after diamonds.

The Okavango is the world's largest inland delta and Botswana's premier tourist site, attracting about 120,000 visitors every year to its wildlife, rock art and fishing.