The Role of Wildlife in Botswana
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THE ROLE OF WILDLIFE IN BOTSWANA: AN EXPLORATION OF HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Graduate Studies of The /University of Guelph by ANDREA BOLLA In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts y May, 2009 © Andrea Bolla, 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-57096-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-57096-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada ABSTRACT THE ROLE OF WILDLIFE IN BOTSWANA: AN EXPLORATION OF HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS Andrea Bolla Advisor: University of Guelph, 2009 Professor Alice Hovorka This paper uses a new cultural animal geography lens to explore the role of wildlife in Botswana. It considers the conceptual placement of wildlife, the socio-spatial processes of inclusion and exclusion to which animals are subjected, the ability of animals to transgress placements and boundaries, and interactions between people and wildlife. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with government officials, members of the scientific and international community, and local citizens in three study areas. Findings reveal people's contradictory perceptions of, and interactions with wildlife based on notions of control and respect, and negotiations and adaptations made by people and wildlife to the resulting established conceptual and geographic boundaries.,Variation occurred across the different human actor groups and three study sites, revealing ways knowledge of wildlife is constructed and contested and the influence of structural context on particular human-wildlife relationships in spaces where certain rules apply to the inclusion and exclusion of animals. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my incredible advisor, Dr. Alice Hovorka. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity and the tools to undertake this research that I am so passionate about, it has been a dream come true. I am thankful for all of your support, encouragement and enthusiasm throughout this entire process. Many thanks and appreciation goes to my thesis committee members Dr. Rene Veron and Dr. Anne Milne. It is difficult to overstate my appreciation to David Burnes, who always offers unwavering support and encouragement. You are amazing, thank you. I would also like to thank the faculty, staff and my colleagues in the Department of Geography at the University of Guelph for all of their knowledge and assistance, which has helped to make this a great experience. I am indebted to the participants of this research, including academics from the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Botswana, staff at the DWNP, MEWT and those in the NGO community, and everyone in the Botswana community. Thank you for making me feel incredibly welcomed and for generously sharing your knowledge of, and personal experiences with wildlife. I cannot finish without saying how grateful I am to my family and friends, particularly my mother, father and brother who have always supported me in life. And to Beth for her meticulous and thoughtful read through of my thesis. Finally, I would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for generously funding this research. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Table of Contents ii List of Figures v List of Acronyms vi CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 1.1 Problem/Rationale 3 1.2 Aims and Objectives , 13 1.3 Thesis Overview 13 CHAPTER TWO: Conceptual Framework: New Cultural Animal Geography 15 CHAPTER THREE: Methodological Approach and Methods 26 3.1 Study Area 26 3.1.1 Gaborone 29 3.1.2 Kasane '. 30 3.1.3 Pandamatenga 33 3.2 Research Approach 35 3.3 Data Collection . ...38 3.4 Data Analysis 42 3.5 Data Dissemination 43 ii CHAPTER FOUR: Results and Analysis (Part I) 45 4.1 The Conceptual Placement of Wildlife 46 4.1.1 What Constitutes Wildlife : 47 4.1.2 Wildlife in Political and Economic Spheres 54 4.1.3 Wildlife in Ecological and Conservation Discourses 57 4.1.4 Wildlife as Recreationally Valuable 63 4.1.5 Wildlife as a Source of Nutrition 65 4.1.6 Wildlife as Symbols Reflecting Cultural Identities.. 67 4.1.7 Wildlife as Destructive to Property and Livelihoods 70 4.1.8 Wildlife as Threats to Human Lives 73 ) 4.2 Knowledge of Wildlife as Constructed and Contested 76 4.3 Wildlife as Influential Actors 85 CHAPTER FIVE: Results and Analysis (Part II) 89 5.1 The Material Placement of Wildlife.. 90 5.2 Gaborone: Isolation of Wildlife 91 5.2.1 Urban Wildlife Parks and Reserves 93 ~J.~J IVdOCillV. i N ^^UUdllllt VV1L11 VV llVail-LW 1UJ 5.3.1 Chobe National Park 104 5.3.2 Kasane Township , 106 in 5.3.3 The Village of Plateau 108 5.4 Pandamatenga: Conflict with Wildlife 114 CHAPTER SIX: Discussion and Conclusions 120 6.1 Discussion of Findings 120 6.1.1 Human-Wildlife Relationships in Abstract Spaces 121 6.1.2 Human-Wildlife Relationships in Material Places 129 6.2 Contributions 134 6.3 Limitations and Future Areas of Research 136 References Cited 139 Appendix A: Contact Script for Key Informants 150 Appendix B: Consent Form 151 Appendix C: Information Letter 155 Appendix D: Semi-Structured Interview Questions 156 IV LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1: Map of Botswana 27 Figure 3.2: Map of National Parks, Game Reserves and WMAs 28 Figure 3.3 Map of Kasane, Chobe National Park and Surrounding Areas 32 Figure 4.1: Flow Chart of Procedure for Presentation of Research Findings.... 46 Figure 4.2: Wildlife Skins and Prints used in Fashion 68 Figure 4.3: Botswana Coat of Arms and Currency Coins ;. 69 Figure 4.4: Distribution of Veterinary Cordon Fences in Botswana 73 Figure 4.5: Map of Protected Areas for Wildlife 86 Figure 5.1: Map of Gaborone Game Reserve 94 Figure 5.2: Visitor Interacting with a Cheetah at the MNR 98 Figure 5.3: Elephant Back Encounters at the MNR 99 Figure 5.4: Interaction Between Elephant and Human Handler at the MNR 100 Figure 5.5: Warthog Feeding on Litter by the Supermarket in the Township of Kasane 107 Figure 5.6: Properties Stripped of Flora in Plateau 109 v LIST OF ACRONYMS APU - Anti-Poaching Unit AWF - African Wildlife Foundation BDF - Botswana Defence Force BTB - Botswana Tourism Board BWP - Botswana Pula (currency) CBNRM - Community Based Natural Resource Management CBO - Community Based Organization CCB - Cheetah Conservation Botswana CHA - Controlled Hunting Area CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora DWNP - Department of Wildlife and National Parks EWB - Elephants Without Borders GDP - Gross Domestic Product GGR - Gaborone Game Reserve HOORC - Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre KCS - Kalahari Conservation Society KDT - Khwai Development Trust MEWT - Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism MNF - Mokolodi Nature Foundation MNR - Mokolodi Nature Reserve NRM - Natural Resource Management NGO - Non-governmental Organization PPF - Peace Parks Foundation VCF - Veterinary Cordon Fences WCS - World Conservation Strategy WMA - Wildlife Management Area VI CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The people of Botswana are, and have always been, enmeshed in social relations with wildlife' to the extent that wildlife is undoubtedly constitutive of Botswana society. Historically, Batswana2 have been ecologically dependent on wildlife as a source of food, clothing and other materials, which sustained human existence for thousands of years (Bolaane, 2004; Mbaiwa, 2005). Wildlife has figured prominently in local culture as expressed through myth, folklore and cave paintings (Botumile, 2006; Greaves, 2004; Lewis-Williams, 1987). More recently, wildlife has played a significant role in the development of national, community and household economies. Botswana's growing wildlife-based tourism industry is currently the second largest economic contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is being set as a priority for the country's economy, which can no longer depend on the leading economic sector, the diamond mining industry (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2007). Consequently, wildlife has become vital to Botswana's international identity, as it is renowned for having one of the largest and most diverse populations worldwide (Bolaane, 2005). Wildlife, therefore, is central to Batswana identity and livelihoods, and how they are recognized in the world.