BCA study shows conflicting attitudes over CBNRM in the Delta

A Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA) research has shown conflicting attitudes between Okavango Delta riparian communities depending solely on Community Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) for livelihoods and those with no alternative sources such as livestock. According to the college’s Department of Animal Science and Production, Research and Policy analysis expert N. Sello, the study was conducted to understand the grazing land management conflicts especially in areas of high density wildlife and livestock populations such as The Okavango Delta Ramsar Site (ODRS).“The study focused on harmonizing key areas in Botswana such as environmentally compatible food production, livestock production and wildlife-based tourism to maximize the benefits,” Sello said.“The management of common resources and policy conflicts between livestock and wildlife, two land use types that take place in the same ecological geo-spatial areas has been a subject of debate among scholars for decades. This conflict, in policies has engendered in communities’ attitudes that are either negative towards wildlife or favorable depending on the benefits they derive from them.” For more read in Sunday Standard http://www.sundaystandard.info/article.php?NewsID=18402&GroupID=3