INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

The River Wilderness and Tourism

BY SALLY WYNN

Introduction The visitor survey sample was selected to proportionally The Zambezi Society is a -based nongovernmental represent the range of tourism accommodation and activ- membership organization devoted to conserving the ity choices in each location, and included people staying in biodiversity and wilderness values of the Zambezi River in hotels, safari lodges and camps, self-catering–national parks central-southern Africa, and to encouraging people to find lodges, and on houseboats, or canoeing and camping. ways of benefiting from the river’s resources without destroy- Members of the Zambezi Society were asked to com- ing them. During the latter half plete a questionnaire that they received by mail with no of the 1990s, the society be- follow-up reminders. gan to receive numerous com- Respondents for both surveys either completed a ques- plaints and concerns from tionnaire individually or in a group response recorded on various sources, implying that one survey. Both close-ended and open-ended questions tourism was having a negative were used to ensure that survey information was complete impact on the wilderness val- for each concept. ues of the Zambezi River. The reports were wide-ranging, Study Results Sally Wynn on Lake Kariba. Photo by Dick Pitman. including unchecked com- A total of 473 surveys was completed by 1,209 visitors to mercialization, ad hoc devel- the Zambezi River area. Of visitors surveyed, 44% of re- opment, tree cutting, border violations, unauthorized road spondents were from Zimbabwe or the Zambezi region and and camp building, noise pollution, littering and abuse of 56% were international. camping sites, and illicit tour and guide activities. A total of 650 surveys were sent to Zambezi Society The overall concern was that the special “wilderness members and 160 questionnaires were completed and re- value” of the Zambezi River was being eroded by inap- turned for a 25% response rate. Respondent surveys in- propriate visitor behavior and tourism development. In cluded input from 315 Zambezi Society members. Survey order to provide visitor input, the society embarked in respondents were mainly (94%) from Zimbabwe. 1998 on a survey project aimed at reporting visitors’ per- Respondents to both surveys value Zambezi wilderness ceptions about wilderness values and importance in the highly. The majority of visitor respondents reported that Zambezi context as well as providing a visitor-based defi- they felt it important that wilderness exists (98%), they nition of the term wilderness. valued wilderness personally (84%), and they came to the Zambezi valley for a wilderness experience (77%). Methodology The responses to an open-ended question in both surveys Visitor data collection was conducted using an on-site ques- provided a fairly comprehensive definition of the term wilder- tionnaire approach in four main Zambezi valley tourism ness. This was summarized from both surveys as a natural, destinations on the Zimbabwean side of the river: Victoria undeveloped, and unpopulated landscape, which is sceni- Falls, Kariba/, Mana Pools Na- cally attractive or unusual, containing indigenous species, and tional Park, and Kanyemba/Mavuradonha Wilderness Area. inducing an emotional state of mind in which the visitor may

34 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 feel one or more of the following: in har- responses for this question on wilder- • natural/unspoiled landscapes— mony with nature, freed from “civiliza- ness values is shown in Table 1. includes wide open spaces and a tion,” inspired, refreshed, invigorated, The physical values of Zambezi wil- feeling that little has changed in the challenged, stimulated, humbled, or derness reported as highly valued by landscape. spiritually fulfilled. A detailed list of the respondents include: • wild species—animals roaming free and indigenous plants. • lack of people—including the Table 1—Respondents Reported Values for signs of their existence, such as pol- What Makes a Place Truly Wild lution, litter, vehicles, and noise. Values of a Truly Wild Place Visitor Survey ZS Members • lack of development—wilderness (n=435) (n=160) is seen as an escape from and a di- rect contrast to urban civilization. NATURAL VALUES 93% 97% • lack of commercialization— Presence of/proximity to wild fauna and flora 42% 32% commercial tourism development Animals roaming free/in natural state 15% 12% and activities seem to be consid- Unspoiled, natural ecosystems/in “original state” 27% 43% ered inappropriate to wilderness Scenic/landscape beauty 6% 4% areas, whereas low-impact struc- Large scale/size landscapes/open spaces 3% 6% tures and activities are felt to be UNDEVELOPED VALUES 48% 66% appropriate. Lack of development/infrastructure/settlement 21% 38% Undeveloped areas deliberately set aside 2% 0% The nonphysical values of Zambezi Nature-sensitive/simple/uncommercial development only 17% 14% wilderness, often neglected in tourism Lack of fences/roads/electricity etc. 8% 14% planning but particularly important to UNCROWDED VALUES 49% 96% local and regional visitors and Zambezi Few/no people/tourists 20% 46% Society members for whom wildlife is Limited access (e.g.vehicle restrictions/by foot only) 3% 3% less of a novelty, include: peace, soli- Lack of human activity (vehicles/pollution/litter) 12% 34% tude, isolation, a feeling of harmony Lack of human interference (controls/rules/signs) 12% 12% with nature, spiritual feelings, chal- Animals and people separated (guided tours only) 1% 0% lenge, and adventure. Small groups of visitors only 1% 1% Eleven areas of the Zambezi River were identified by respondents as be- EMOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL VALUES 21% 60% ing important for wilderness apprecia- Silence (natural sounds only) 8% 25% tion. Relative satisfaction with the visitor Feeling of being “at one with/in harmony with nature” 1% 3% experience in each area was expressed Peace/serenity 2% 5% by respondents on a five-point scale of Solitude/seclusion 5% 13% strongly agree to strongly disagree. The Remoteness/isolation 5% 8% four areas given the highest satisfaction Feeling of humankind’s insignificance 0% 6% ratings by respondents were: CHALLENGE/ADVENTURE VALUES 5% 6% Presence of danger/feelings of fear 2% 1% • / Rugged experience/sleeping rough/fending for oneself 1% 3% Chewore Safari Area (includes Unpredictability/encountering the unexpected 2% 2% the Sapi Safari Area and Middle Zambezi). CULTURAL ENCOUNTER VALUES 2% 2% • Lake Kariba/Matusadona Opportunity to interact with local peoples/traditions 2% 2% National Park (away from Kariba MANAGEMENT VALUES 4% 3% town). Efficient, but unobtrusive management 2% 3% • / High standards of guiding 1% 0% Mavuradonha Wilderness Area/ Good standards of comfort/safety 1% 0% Zambezi escarpment mountainous

International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 35 terrain (different from the valley); Table 2—Respondents Reported What Detracts from this area is especially popular with a Place Feeling Truly Wild local visitors. From “Truly Wild” Visitor Survey ZS Members •/Chirundu/Kan- (n=420) (n=160) yemba are relatively settled and urbanized areas, but have impor- PEOPLE/HUMAN ACTIVITIES 70% 98% tant wilderness areas nearby (e.g., Too many people/mass tourism 38% 40% near Too many vehicles 10% 17% Victoria Falls). Pollution/litter 11% 21% Harassment by curio sellers/vendors/currency dealers 1% 1% Tourism activity choices that respon- Unruly/insensitive visitors 5% 11% dents reported as offering high wilder- Unruly/too many operators 4% 8% ness value include: canoeing, boating Presence of security guards 1% 0% on Lake Kariba, and safari lodges/bush NOISE 37% 69% camps that offer guided walks and General noise (unspecified) 9% 29% “close encounter” bush experiences. Aircraft (including helicopters & microlights) 7% 6% The visitor survey asked respon- Motorboats/boats/kapenta rigs 7% 10% dents to indicate from a checklist what Cars/buses 6% 11% activities they had undertaken in their Trains 1% 0% visit to the Zambezi. The responses Music/radios 5% 9% (and any additional activities added by Generators 1% 5% respondents) were categorized into Construction companies 1% 0% three groups, depending on their de- gree of impact on the environment: DEVELOPMENT (GENERAL) 48% 72% low, medium, and high. Of the 10 Too much development/infrastructure/settlement 29% 39% most popular activities undertaken by Roads (especially tarred) 9% 17% respondents, 7 fall within the low-im- Fences 3% 4% pact category: bird-watching, walking, Lights/electricity pylons 4% 7% photography, fishing (from land), Signs 1% 1% swimming/sunbathing, and picnick- Rules and regulations/restrictions/lack of spontaneity 2% 4% ing. The remaining three most popu- COMMERCIAL TOURISM 36% 58% lar activities—sightseeing, game Commercialization/big hotels/luxury lodges/tourist traps 26% 36% viewing, and camping—were in the Inappropriate/insensitive development/architecture 5% 10% medium category. High-impact activi- Inappropriate activities (e.g. discos/casinos/video games) 2% 8% ties such as motorboating, golf, river/ Presence of “tame wildife”/feeding of animals 2% 3% lake cruises, and air flights were most Exploitation/extortion 1% 1% often listed by visitors to Victoria Falls, Lake Kariba, and Kanyemba. IMPACTS ON NATURE 10% 27% None of the visitor activities that are Ecosystem damage/tree cutting /off-road driving, etc. 3% 15% special to Mana Pools National Park Presence of exotic species 1% 1% fall within the high-impact category Lack of wild fauna and flora 3% 4% and may partially explain why Mana Harassment of wild animals (e.g. spotlights/radio collars) 1% 2% received the highest satisfaction rat- Lack of environmental protection/management 1% 4% ings from respondents for their wil- Poaching 1% 1% derness experience. OTHER DETRACTIONS 2% 6% The five main factors that respon- Poor management of tourism facilities 1% 1% dents to both surveys reported detracted Presence of domestic animals 1% 4% from their wilderness experience Lack of knowledgeable guides 0% 1% (Table 2) were:

36 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 •Too many people—unruly and in- sensitive behavior such as harass- ing wildlife with too many tour vehicles or noisy visitor behavior on river cruises and human-gen- erated pollution and litter. • Noise—human-generated sounds that are unnatural for the setting such as loud radios and music in campsites or mechanical noise such as fuel-powered electrical generators at lodges and camps, and motorized vehicles such as motorboats, motor- bikes, trucks, and airplanes. Map of Zambezi River Wilderness Area and tourism visitor survey areas. • Over development—respondents want to get away from the hustle have high impacts on wilderness (e.g., Respondents visiting the wilder ar- and bustle of urban civilization and scenic flights, river cruises, motor- eas of the Zambezi River reported they development, and they report boats, golf, and gambling casinos), and were more ready to contribute toward some development detracts from respondents reported these as detract- wilderness conservation than those vis- the wilderness experience: too ing from the wilderness experience. iting more heavily developed and im- much infrastructure, too many Wilderness visitor satisfaction is lower pacted areas. While less than half the roads, too many lights, and too in Victoria Falls than in other Zambezi respondents surveyed in Victoria Falls many regulations. River areas surveyed. Motorboating on and 55% of those in Kariba were pre- • Commercial tourism—respondents the Zambian side of the river opposite pared, in principle, to contribute finan- report that low-key/low-impact in- Mana Pools National Park was men- cially to maintaining wilderness areas, frastructure and activities designed tioned by respondents as a detraction some 70% of respondents in Mana Pools to be nature-sensitive were accept- to the wilderness experience of visi- National Park and in Zambezi Valley able in wilderness areas; however, tors staying at Mana. The presence of communal lands reported they were some commercial tourism detracts houseboats and the noise of their en- willing to make a financial contribution. from wilderness quality such as gines and generators was mentioned luxury high-rise hotels, insensitive as detracting from the wilderness qual- Discussion architecture, advertising billboards ity of the Matusadona National Park, These survey results highlight the im- on the edge of a World Heritage Site, especially in the Kariba Eastern Basin. portance of a “wilderness experience” commercial sales outlets at the en- Tourism information and interpreta- to people visiting the Zambezi. This trance to the “rain forest” at Victoria tive materials were reported as inad- information supports the need to en- Falls, “tame” wildlife, and exploita- equate by respondents to the visitor sure that the river’s wild values are tion and harassment by vendors and survey. Most respondents (73%) were conserved and to promote wilderness- dealers. visiting the Zambezi River area indepen- sensitive tourism, especially in view of • Impacts on nature—damage or al- dently and only 27% reported they were terations to ecosystems such as tree accompanied, on their trip, by a tour cutting, wildlife poaching, and the operator or guide. Some of those visit- presence of nonnative species. ing the Zambezi River may only experi- ence a very limited area, such as the 58% Respondents reported numerous of respondents surveyed in Victoria Falls specific detractions in certain areas as who were visiting no other destination. being particularly noticeable. For ex- In the absence of educational informa- ample, highly commercialized tourism tion on wilderness, visitors to these ar- areas such as Victoria Falls offer ac- eas may be missing the wilderness value tivities as part of package tours that that the Zambezi River offers. Batoka Gorge. Photo by Dick Pitman.

International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 37 opment. The Zambezi Society believes stewardship into all tourism plan- that this visitor research on wilderness ning and management in the is well timed to take advantage of the Zambezi valley through: current climate of review. • incorporating consideration for the visitor’s “wilderness experi- Recommendations for ence” into tourism planning; Tourism • safeguarding wilderness quality by developing wilderness-sensi- These study results, along with input tive guidelines for conservation Buffalo at Mana Pools. Photo by Dick Pitman. from the Zambezi Society, suggest two and tourism practices; general recommendations about mar- the economic and investment benefits • ensuring that tourism activities keting wilderness experiences and that international tourism brings to the and facilities in wilderness areas wilderness stewardship. region. However, these study results are appropriate and wilderness- may be contrary to a general public 1. Market wilderness and promote sensitive; perception in Africa that setting aside Zambezi valley wilderness-based • establishing mechanisms for wild places for the enjoyment of tour- tourism by: managing tourism development ists and wilderness enthusiasts is a •recognizing the importance of in wilderness areas through fur- luxury that Africans can ill afford. wilderness as a destination; ther research into acceptable/un- Current land use pressures and other • marketing a “Zambezi wilder- acceptable visitor numbers and development priorities tend to put wil- ness experience” with specific impacts; derness awareness, conservation, and wilderness activities that have • monitoring of visitor satisfaction management very low on the public low environmental impacts; with the wilderness experience planning agenda and attempt to maxi- • targeting markets that specifically and compliance with wilderness mize short-term revenues at the ex- appreciate and value wilderness stewardship guidelines; pense of long-term sustainability. and wilderness experiences; and • improving the quality of the wil- The information from this study •providing more information and derness experience and condi- shows the need for an understanding interpretation for visitors on the tions at more highly developed of the vital link between wilderness- Zambezi and its wilderness eco- areas like Victoria Falls; based tourism and Africa’s wild areas. system. • encouraging wilderness visitors to The Zambezi River with its tropical 2. Safeguard wilderness by incorpo- financially contribute to main- diversity, forests, birds, and large mam- rating wilderness awareness and taining wilderness areas; and mals has wilderness qualities that are unique in the southern African region and, unlike other wild tropical rivers in the world, the Zambezi is an attrac- tive tourism destination, being rela- tively accessible and safe. The decline of Zimbabwe’s tourism industry as a result of recent political and economic turmoil has been a dif- ficult situation with secondary eco- nomic effects in the southern region of Africa. In its efforts to recover, the tourism industry is now considering new approaches and undergoing a process of creative planning and re- view that might not otherwise have occurred in the bustle of a thriving tourism marketplace based on devel- The Zambezi River at Mana Pools. Photo by Sally Wynn.

38 International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 wilderness management through the establishment of a wilderness manage- ment training program for managers, field officers, rangers, and guides in public, private, and community wild- lands in the Zambezi region; (4) influencing tourism policy, manage- ment, and practice to take account of wilderness values by developing a set of guidelines for wilderness-sensitive management and tourism practice through a series of workshops with custodians, managers, and tourism practitioners operating in Zambezi valley wild areas; and (5) helping to establish more community-based wil- Musengezi River, Mavuradonha Wilderness Area. Photo by Jane Hunt. derness areas to provide opportunities for local revenue generation through • establishing an association or Zimbabwe’s Tourism Master Plan, and carefully managed, sustainable tour- organization to represent the in- they have provided input regarding ism initiatives. terests of independent wilder- wilderness values into the Canadian- ness visitors (i.e., not on funded Master Plan for Victoria Falls. SALLY WYNN is wilderness programme organized tours) to the Zambezi. Additionally, members of the Zambezi coordinator for the Zambezi Society in Society were sponsored by the WILD Harare, Zimbabwe, and can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected] or by Study Utilization Foundation to attend and present a visiting the website at www.zamsoc.org. A The Zambezi Society recently presented paper at the 7th World Wilderness copy of the full report “The Zambezi River: these study findings on wilderness val- Congress (WWC) in South Africa in Wilderness and Tourism” may be obtained ues to Zimbabwean tourism policy mak- November 2001, and a society-nomi- from The Zambezi Society (US$10). ers, planners, and operators, as well as nated candidate from Zimbabwe’s Na- to planning authorities, custodians, and tional Parks Department was managers of wild places along the sponsored by the WILD Foundation Zambezi River. The potential for wilder- to attended a weeklong Wilderness ness-focused and wilderness-sensitive Management Training Program prior tourism was highlighted for the Zambezi to the WWC. valley by suggesting that it is the most The Zambezi Society is now devel- suitable, low-impact, sustainable option oping a comprehensive wilderness for Zambezi wild areas and that such a management and stewardship pro- message be incorporated into related gram for the Zambezi River. The ini- marketing strategies. However, the tiative promotes a transboundary Zambezi Society expressed concern that approach between , Zimba- inappropriate promotion could contrib- bwe, and Mozambique by (1) extend- ute to destroying the Zambezi River’s ing research on perceptions about unique wilderness qualities unless wil- wilderness to local communities liv- derness-sensitivity was incorporated ing in or adjacent to Zambezi tourism into tourism planning, management, areas and to Zambezi visitors and com- and practice of current and future munities in Zambia and Mozambique; Zambezi valley tourism. (2) promoting Zambezi wilderness The Zambezi Society was invited to and educating visitors and communi- Exploring the Makarodzi River, Mavuradonha contribute to the process of developing ties about its values; (3) reinforcing Wilderness Area. Photo by Jane Hunt.

International Journal of Wilderness APRIL 2002 • VOLUME 8, NUMBER 1 39