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The value of wildlife-viewing tourism as an incentive for conservation of biodiversity in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

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Listed:
  • Natalie Mladenov
  • R John Gardner
  • E Nicholas Flores
  • E Joseph Mbaiwa
  • Gagoitseope Mmopelwa
  • M Kenneth Strzepek

Abstract

The Okavango Delta is a large wetland safari destination in north-western Botswana. Given that future threats to its water supply may affect the biodiversity of this ecosystem, it was important to elicit a value of the Delta from the tourism sector and assess how biodiversity influences that value. This paper presents a valuation of visitors' preferences for the preservation of the Okavango Delta in 2001 and 2002 using contingent valuation (CV) and travel cost (TC) approaches. The results showed that the quality of wildlife viewing was significantly correlated with willingness-to-pay (WTP) for preservation and suggested that impaired biodiversity would negatively affect the value of this ecosystem. The combined CV and TC values totalled US$285/visitor/annum. Extrapolated to the annual pool of visitors to the Delta in 2002, this translates to US$23 million, a large reservoir of funds from the tourism sector that could be used for preservation.

Suggested Citation

  • Natalie Mladenov & R John Gardner & E Nicholas Flores & E Joseph Mbaiwa & Gagoitseope Mmopelwa & M Kenneth Strzepek, 2007. "The value of wildlife-viewing tourism as an incentive for conservation of biodiversity in the Okavango Delta, Botswana," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 409-423.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:deveza:v:24:y:2007:i:3:p:409-423
    DOI: 10.1080/03768350701445525
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    Cited by:

    1. Carson, Richard T. & DeShazo, J.R. & Schwabe, Kurt A. & Vincent, Jeffrey R. & Ahmad, Ismariah, 2015. "Incorporating local visitor valuation information into the design of new recreation sites in tropical forests," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 338-349.
    2. Giddy Julia K. & Hoogendoorn Gijsbert & Fitchett Jennifer M., 2017. "Insight into American tourists’ experiences with weather in South Africa," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 38(38), pages 57-72, December.

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