03 Sep 2013

The Khawa community is working hard to identify possible eco-tourism projects to sustain their livelihoods, Kgosi Piet Manyoro has said.

In an interview, Kgosi Manyoro said the Khawa Dune Challenge had proven its sustainability during its two years of existence adding that it was high time the community identified other ways of diversifying the tourism industry in the area.

He noted that sustainable utilisation of the environment and natural resources could improve the livelihoods and the dune challenge could bear testimony to that.

Kgosi Manyoro said Khawa residents were blessed with a unique geological location in Botswana which had breathtaking landscape and tourism attractions. 

He noted that a number of communities in Kgalagadi had a culture that is intertwined with the environment. 

They also depend on natural resources, hence the need to put all resources in the development of rural communities and preservation of their heritage and culture, he said.

“We have fragile cultures with fascinating experiences and stories to relate to a growing market of tourists who are looking precisely for such cultural experiences,” he said.

Kgalagadi has vast and undisturbed wilderness as well as scarce commodities that tourists are keen to explore thus generating revenue for the tourism industry, he added.

He said that cultural preservation could minimize the negative effects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people by empowering them with necessary survival skills that could uplift them from poverty. 

Kgosi Manyoro called on government to diversify tourism products and support cultural and sporting initiatives that could ensure tourism growth in Botswana. ENDS