Dataset Information

Wildlife Abundance and Diversity as Indicators of Tourism Potential in Northern Botswana.

ABSTRACT: Wildlife tourism can provide economic incentives for conservation. Due to the abundance of wildlife and the presence of charismatic species some areas are better suited to wildlife tourism. Our first objective was to develop criteria based on wildlife abundance and diversity to evaluate tourism potential in the Northern Conservation Zone of Botswana. Secondly we wanted to quantify and compare tourism experiences in areas with high and low tourism potential. We used aerial survey data to estimate wildlife biomass and diversity to determine tourism potential, while data from ground surveys quantified the tourist experience. Areas used for High Paying Low Volume tourism had significantly higher mean wildlife biomass and wildlife diversity than the areas avoided for this type of tourism. Only 22% of the Northern Conservation Zone has intermediate to high tourism potential. The areas with high tourism potential, as determined from the aerial survey data, provided tourists with significantly better wildlife sightings (ground surveys) than the low tourism potential areas. Even Low Paying tourism may not be economically viable in concessions that lack areas with intermediate to high tourism potential. The largest part of the Northern Conservation Zone has low tourism potential, but low tourism potential is not equal to low conservation value. Alternative conservation strategies should be developed to complement the economic incentive provided by wildlife-based tourism in Botswana.

SUBMITTER: Winterbach CW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4550452 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Wildlife Abundance and Diversity as Indicators of Tourism Potential in Northern Botswana.

Winterbach Christiaan W CW Whitesell Carolyn C Somers Michael J MJ

PloS one 20150826 8

Wildlife tourism can provide economic incentives for conservation. Due to the abundance of wildlife and the presence of charismatic species some areas are better suited to wildlife tourism. Our first objective was to develop criteria based on wildlife abundance and diversity to evaluate tourism potential in the Northern Conservation Zone of Botswana. Secondly we wanted to quantify and compare tourism experiences in areas with high and low tourism potential. We used aerial survey data to estimate ...[more]

PMID: 26308859

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Project description:Ticks and tick borne diseases (TBDs) undermine livestock production with considerable economic losses to livestock producers in endemic areas worldwide. Despite the impact of ticks and TBDs in livestock production, there is a paucity of information on ticks and diseases they transmit in Botswana. To address this gap, a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine (i) the seroprevalence of selected tick borne (TB) pathogens and (ii) the diversity and abundance of ixodid ticks among 301 cattle foraging around two protected areas in northern Botswana, differing by the presence or absence of a physical barrier (fence) separating wildlife and livestock. Competitive inhibition enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (cELISA) was used to test for Anaplasma spp. infection and Indirect Fluorescence Antibody Test (IFAT) was used to test for Theileria parva, Babesia bovis, and B. bigemina. Ticks were identified morphologically at either genus or species level. Seroprevalence of cattle was found to be 90% for Anaplasma spp., followed by 38.6% for Babesia spp. and 2.4% for T. parva. Except for Babesia spp., comparisons of the seroprevalence of the selected haemoparasites between the two wildlife-livestock interface areas were not significantly different. The overall prevalence of ticks was found to be 73.4% with Amblyomma variegatum being the most abundant (53.1%) followed by Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi (31.7%) and R. (B.) decoloratus (7.7%). Except for Babesia spp., comparisons of the seroprevalence of the selected haemoparasites between the two study areas were not significantly different while comparisons of the burden of tick infestation between the study sites revealed significant difference for A. variegatum and R. evertsi evertsi with both tick infestations higher where there is no barrier. Our work provided baseline data on TBD pathogens and tick infestation in cattle populations exposed to different levels of contact with adjacent buffalo populations. The presence of a veterinary fence did not significantly influence the seroprevalence of the selected TBD pathogens (except for Babesia spp.) but seemed to reduce tick burdens in cattle. Findings from this study can be used for guiding future epidemiological study designs to improve our understanding of ticks and TBDs dynamics in northern Botswana.

Project description:This study investigated the attitudes of the people living in three adjacent communities close to the Bomfobiri wildlife sanctuary in Ghana concerning the observation of the cultural, seasonal closures of hunting. The cognitive and motivational approaches to attitude theory in wildlife management guided, under the phenomenology method, the collection of qualitative data on the importance of the seasonal closure of hunting and its implementation challenges. This inquiry was deemed crucial to improving the disjointed relationship between park management and local communities that often make wildlife conservation and tourism difficult at the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary. Forty-five key wildlife stakeholders, including park officers, traditional authorities, elderly residents, and bushmeat traders, were purposively selected with some interviewed personally and others engaged in focus group discussions. Despite a more significant number of stakeholders admitting the importance of the seasonal closure of hunting, some challenges impeded its implementation. These included the absence of alternative arrangements to support hunters during the period for the annual closure of hunting; lack of proper sensitisation and education on the hunting ban; absence of transparency in the equitable sharing of proceeds from wildlife tourism at the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary among park officers (Government) and the traditional authorities; the booming bushmeat business and the fear of losing customers after the fallow period; and purported corruption on the part of park officers, threatening the observation of the seasonal closure of hunting. The study has offered proactive suggestions to the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission and mainly to park management at the Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary on how to address these challenges and improve wildlife management and sustainable wildlife tourism potentials in Ghana. Paramount among them is the tactful provision of alternative sources of livelihood and the establishment of enterprises in non-timber forest products as sources of income for hunters during the seasonal hunting ban.

Dataset Information

Wildlife Abundance and Diversity as Indicators of Tourism Potential in Northern Botswana.

Publications

Wildlife Abundance and Diversity as Indicators of Tourism Potential in Northern Botswana.

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