PROMISE AND REALITY OF COMMUNITY BASED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BOTSWANA: COMMON POOL RESOURCE USE AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN IKOGA, OKAVANGO DELTA (PANHANDLE)

Colonial and post-colonial changes eroded common property management systems that were in place among resource users in the Okavango Delta region in Botswana. Today, people with different ethnic backgrounds that are often living together in permanent settlements, claim access to common-pool resources that are in most of the cases, under open access tenure. Except for the government, nobody devises management rules for common-pool resources, although legally the resource users would have the option to do so. Since the job market in the region is very limited, the use of the common-pool resources is essential for the survival of the people and the commercial exploitation of the resources seems to be a reasonable option to improve the people's income. Under such conditions conflicts over access to resources and detrimental resource use seem to be the logical result. However violent conflicts and overuse are largely absent. How is this possible? It seems that three factors are central in maintaining peace and resource stability in the area: a) the low population density b) the government's distribution of goods, money and social infrastructure c) the absence of markets and demand for the Okavango Delta's CPRs These factors are interrelated and many other factors (described below), currently contribute to the region's relative stability. The low population density generally reduces pressure on the common-pool resources, as is the case of the subsistence economy, which is largely based on the common-pool resources. The government's supply of goods and services covers some of the most basic needs of the people who would otherwise be forced to exploit the common-pool resources more intensively. The absence of local and regional markets for common-pool resources from the Delta, coupled with a low demand for these resources on the national and international markets, makes commercial exploitation a non-profitable option. Policy makers and development agencies are aware of a possible aggravation which may occur when, due to socio-economic or political changes, one or several of these factors change. This is one of the reasons why Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) has been introduced into Botswana. CBNRM attempts to combine self-determined rural development and conservation, by allocating state land and common-pool resources to remote rural communities for their exclusive management and utilization. Whether or not CBNRM will contribute to the well being of the people and to the sustainable use of the common-pool resources, cannot yet be said with certainty. Case studies show that the clarification of the distribution of benefits among the communities, and the question of long-term tenure rights versus short-time user rights, are crucial if this new approach is to succeed.