Botswana’S Ban on Trophy Hunting And
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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Earth and Mineral Sciences FROM CALIBERS TO CAMERAS: BOTSWANA’S BAN ON TROPHY HUNTING AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SOCIOECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE OF NGAMILAND DISTRICT A Thesis in Geography by Erica C. Hann © 2015 Erica C. Hann Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science May 2015 The thesis of Erica C. Hann was reviewed and approved* by the following: Brian King Associate Professor of Geography Thesis Adviser Karl Zimmerer Professor of Geography Cynthia Brewer Professor of Geography Head of the Department of Geography *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii Abstract On January 1, 2014, a ban on all trophy hunting took effect in the southern African nation of Botswana. The ban was motivated by a 2011 aerial survey of wildlife populations which found statistically significant declines in eleven large mammal species. The decision to eliminate hunting marked a pronounced change from previous decades of wildlife management that included hunting and photographic concession. This shift in resource management is particularly important in the Ngamiland district of Northern Botswana in which over half of all residents are employed in the tourism industry. Trophy hunting, including of iconic and endangered species such as the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana), was previously permitted in Ngamiland and brought significant economic benefits to local communities, safari operators, and the national government. The role of hunting as a tool of conservation and importance of hunting-based tourism as a livelihood practice has been a subject of debate within and beyond Botswana for decades. Thus, there is considerable uncertainty around the types and severity of impacts the hunting ban will produce for both social and ecological systems. This thesis examines these impacts through a mixed methods approach including twenty-two semi- structured interviews and archival data collection as well as remote sensing analysis of vegetation patterns in Ngamiland. Results demonstrate considerable spatial variability both among perceptions of the ban, as well as vegetation patterns across the landscape. This suggests a significant degree of socioecological heterogeneity not recognized by a homogenous resource management policy such as the hunting ban. It also suggests an uneven ability among concessions to transition successfully to photographic-based tourism, potentially weakening incentives for conservation in certain areas. iii Table of Contents List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………...v List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….vi Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………vii Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Elimination of Trophy Hunting in Botswana 1.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 1.2 Purpose of the Study….…………………………………………………………..…...3 1.3 Study Area………...……………………………………………………………..……5 1.4 Conceptual Frameworks…………………………………………………………..…..7 1.5 Methods………………………………………………………………………….…...13 1.6 Summary……………………………………………………………………….…….15 Chapter 2: Tourism, Conservation and Wildlife Management in Ngamiland District 2.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………...…...16 2.2 Tourism in Botswana………………………………………………………………...16 2.3 Community-Based Conservation in Botswana………………………………………17 2.4 Wildlife Management in Botswana………………………………………………….22 2.5 The EWB survey……………………………………………………………………..24 2.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….……..27 Chapter 3: Perceptions and Impacts of the Hunting Ban 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………..……28 3.2 Methods and Study Area………………………………………………………..……29 3.3 Results………………………………………………………………………..………30 3.4 Discussion……………………………………………………………………….…...43 3.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….…………..47 Chapter 4: Spatial Variability of NDVI Values in Northern Botswana 4.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………….………….48 4.2 Methods………………………………………………………………….…………...49 4.3 Results…………………………………………………………………….………….53 4.4 Discussion……………………………………………………………………………57 4.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...59 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications 5.1 Socioecological hetereogeneity in Ngamiland………………………………..……...61 5.2 Areas for Future Research…………………………………………………………...63 5.3 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...65 References………………………………………………………………………………………..67 Appendix A: Wildlife Populations in Ngamiland, 1989-2012…………………………………..71 Appendix B: NDVI values in Northern Botswana………………………………………………72 iv List of Tables 1.1 Factors governing suitability for consumptive or non-consumptive tourism…………….…12 2.1 Hunting Quotas as a percentage of overall wildlife populations in Ngamiland…………..…23 3.1 Summary of interview results across three groups of interest…………………………….....41 4.1 Land cover type and NDVI range…………………………………………………………....52 v List of Figures 1.1 Map of Botswana with Study Sites…….……………………………………………….……..5 1.2 Socioecological system of trophy hunting in Ngamiland……………………………....……..9 2.1 Revenue generated in selected Ngamiland Trusts……………………………….……….….19 2.2 (a) Revenue generated in Sankuyo trust, by type………...……………………………...…..21 2.2 (b) Revenue generated in Khwai trust, by type…………………………………………..…..21 2.2 (c) Revenue generated in Mababe trust, by type……………………………………………..21 2.3 Aerial survey strata………………………………………………………………...….……..22 2.4 (a) Overall trends in selected wildlife populations by land area……………………………..25 2.4 (b) Trends in selected wildlife population (1996-2010)……………………………………..25 4.1 Land Use in Botswana………………………………………………………………...……..50 4.2 Concessions used in analysis………………………………………………………………...51 4.3 (a) NDVI distribution by concession, 1990-1998………………………………………..…..54 4.3 (b) NDVI distribution by concession, 2000-2008…………………………………………....55 4.4 Ngamiland Annual Rainfall, 1998-2010……………………………………………………..56 vi Acknowledgements There are a number of people who assisted in the completion this thesis, either through intellectual input, moral support, or a combination of the two. I have been lucky enough to have a consistently wonderful group of friends and mentors that allowed me to pursue a graduate degree and undertake international fieldwork. Dr. Brian King has been absolutely invaluable as an advisor and mentor from my first semester on campus. His ideas, incredibly insightful comments on earlier writing and incredible patience as I worked through the last two years have been so helpful, particularly in stages of fieldwork preparation. Numerous additional faculty members contributed to the development and execution of this thesis. Feedback from Dr. Karl Zimmerer on seminar papers, research proposals, and this thesis has greatly improved the quality of my work and ability to communicate complex ideas of human-environment interactions. Dr. Doug Miller was a wonderfully patient and supportive mentor in my goal of integrating remote sensing into this thesis and proving to myself that I can actually do quantitative analysis I am grateful to my fellow graduate students many of whom helped revise drafts of proposals, research questions and this very document. Having your support throughout the tumultuous journey of grad school has made it that much easier to get through long afternoons in 319 and late nights of editing. I’d like to thank Jamie Shinn in particular for her guidance and friendship both at Penn State and during fieldwork in Botswana. My parents and family deserve a great deal of credit for their unending confidence in my abilities and encouragement to pursue my dreams wherever they took me and however I got there. And to all of my friends who are practically family by now, thank you for late nights of dancing and laughter, delicious nourishing meals and beautiful uplifting experiences in the outdoors. The greatest thanks of course goes to the people and communities who I interacted with in Botswana. From university faculty to villagers in Mababe, I am grateful beyond words for your cooperation and patience with me. Your contributions are why I bothered to start this project in the first place, and I hope I have been able to reflect that in the following pages. Ke a leboga thata! A final offering of thanks is owed to those who provided financial support for this research, the Penn State Department of Geography and the National Science Foundation. Easing the financial burden allowed this research to take place. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No. 0964596. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. vii Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Elimination of Trophy Hunting in Botswana 1.1 Introduction With over a third of the country classified as protected area of some kind, Botswana has long nurtured highly successful conservation efforts (Department of Wildlife and National Parks 2011). The northern part of the country is host to one of the largest African elephant populations in the world with recent estimates of a population of approximately 160,000 (Department of Wildlife and National Parks 2012). Robust lion, hippo, giraffe, and zebra populations are also present in Botswana (ibid.). This abundance of wildlife resources represents a significant draw for both hunting and photographic-based tourism. Wildlife-based tourism is a critical element of the economy of Botswana, second only to the profitable diamond industry in terms of GDP contribution (Department of Tourism 2010). This importance