19 Nov 2019

 Botswana and Namibia have agreed that there is need to have a common code that could reduce conflict and increase visitor satisfaction among the Kavango- Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) countries.

In an interview, coordinator of Transfrontier Conservation Areas in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Ms Ingrid Otukile, said countries needed to harmonise their policies on natural resources utilisation.

She noted that as a result of such need, Botswana and Namibia were in the process of finalising a Chobe River Transboundary Tourism Code of Conduct (CRTTCoC) that would minimise conflicts, help in the satisfaction of tourists and in utilising the water without compromising its biodiversity.

Ms Otukile noted that in a meeting recently held in Namibia that the countries agreed that they should comply with the obligations contained in the SADC Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses.

She noted that at the meeting, the first draft of the code of conduct was discussed and she anticipated that the second draft would be discussed before the festive season and completed next year.

Ms Otukile said it was gratifying that some of the issues in the draft code did not need law to be implemented and after finalisation of the draft the two countries could implement such issues without having to wait for law. 

She, however, indicated that implementation of issues that needed laws would be delayed.

She indicated that some of the issues in the draft CRTTCoc were that all river users should prevent, reduce and control pollution resulting directly or indirectly from human conduct, that all vessels carrying paying passengers should be under the authority of a skipper who is a registered guide or a person with the necessary qualifications and that all vessels should at all times proceed at a safe speed adapted to prevailing circumstances and restricted visibility.

The code further required that the two countries should ensure that all owners of tourism passenger boats carry an insurance; she said further, adding that protection of biodiversity resources were required on both banks of the river to ensure the enforcement of seasonal closed fishing periods.

According to the first draft of the CRRTCoC, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) and Namibian conservancies should identify the acceptable number of boats that might operate on the Chobe River.

Furthermore, she said the operation of houseboats must not interfere with the aesthetic enjoyment of the river and its surroundings by other tourists and tourism operators and must be conducted according to internationally accepted ethical standards. Ends