Background

The Boteti River is the western boundary of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in North Central Botswana. The remaining riverbed pools are the dry season range of Southern Africa’s largest zebra and wildebeest migration, along with a wildlife variety of other species, both migratory and resident.

Our area of safari operations incorporates three protected wildlife sanctuaries in the Kalahari – The Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Parks, and Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The location of the camp, just over an hour drive from Maun, the safari hub of the Okavango Delta, puts us in a unique position to do extensive and varied Kalahari safaris.

In 2002 the Government of Botswana declared that the wildlife/human conflict situation along the Boteti River was increasing to unacceptable levels, deciding to solve the problem with a fence to save the wildlife from livestock encroachment, and protect the farmers from marauding wildlife.

This resulted in increased positive potential for developments in wildlife safari tourism, and employment opportunities for the rural people living in close proximity to the national park. The camp is on leased tribal land and therefore ideally located to maximize benefits to the rural communities living in the area.

These new developments to protect the wildlife did not initially include water provision, and so we at Meno A Kwena took on the responsibility of assisting with the development and management of the park’s wildlife demands on water. This has necessitated securing sufficient and reliable water since 2002. We also identified with the need for local employment opportunities, and so the camp and safaris have developed and evolved with this major consideration in mind.

As a result of the combined input, we have secured the future of the park’s spectacular wildlife, and created a demand for the rural employment resources in the direct environs of the national park.  This is all made possible by, and acknowledges the need for responsible sustainable tourism that we emphasise is the key to long term wildlife and natural habitat conservation.  It is this concept that will make the wildlife transfrontier parks process a realistic future for sustainable environmental development.