16 Jun 2014

Bird tourism has been discribed as an important element in the future economy of the country.

Speaking at the World Migratory Bird Day in Jwaneng recently, United States embassy’s regional environment, science, technology and health officer, Mr Dovas Saulys said if bird tourism in the country could be developed and sustainably used, the economy of the country would benefit a lot from the US$80 billion worth of the global bird watching industry.

The annual world migratory bird day was celebrated under the theme; Destination Flyways, Migratory Birds and Tourism. He explained that bird tourism just like diamonds is capable of generating income and contributing a major percentage to the economy of the country, thus building the future of the country.

“Just as diamonds helped build the Botswana of today, sustainable use of wildlife can build Botswana of tomorrow,” he said. Mr Saulys explained that efforts to preserve the country’s bounty environment treasures must be well distributed geographically.

He explained that it was critical to preserve Botswana’s ecotourism sites such as the Okavango delta as it boasts a wealth of bird and animal life. He further said the benefits of natural resources also need to be broadly shared throughout the society.

He said rural communities that live with the wildlife must benefit and thus the need to empower and organise them to manage local natural resources. Mr Saulys said that the US will continue on supporting efforts pioneered on sustainable bird tourism.

He said his country is hoping to build a partnership between Okavango Delta and a wetland in America called Everglades National Park so that Botswana can learn from the US’s failure to protect the wetland.

Birdlife Botswana’s programmes manager, Mr Motshereganye Kootsositse concurred, saying birds are also important in everyday life. He explained that some birds have a good association with people. He further explained that the honey guide species is vital as it shows where honey can be found as well as the swallows species which indicated climate change in the way it sounds.

Mr Kootsositse said it was vital to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day to understand and appreciate that some actions performed may hinder the increase of bird species. He encouraged Batswana to invest in bird tourism as it can bring income to the country.

He said bird watching tourists have been viewed as bird fanatics as roughly one billion tourists annually cross international borders just to watch birds migrate and bird photography.

He stated that this year the world migratory bird day will partner with the World Tourism Origination to highlight the destination flyways project aimed at developing sustainable tourism in destinations along the world major migratory bird route.

“The project aims to safeguard the birds’ habitat while creating resilient and green job opportunities for local communities,” he said. ENDS