Botswana, Tourism and Biodiversity: Preliminary Results from Rapid Situation Analysis

The purpose of the rapid situation analysis was to take a snapshot view of how Botswana appeared to be particularly successful in managing human-animal interaction, biodiversity and tourism in relation to wildlife and the natural environment. The success seems to be framed by policy choices and long-term thinking. Fieldwork, including extensive meetings with private and public sector stakeholders was undertaken over a three-week period prior to the May, 2019 lifting of the ban on elephant trophy hunting (which thus does not form part of the commentary for this article). The fieldwork comprised two components: a series of formal meetings in Kasane and Maun with various stakeholders (including tribal leaders, NGO staff, researchers, community leaders, regional and national institutions), and site visits to areas that demonstrated the range of conservation-touristic activities: Chobe game park, Vumbura plain, Mombo, and Sandibe.