ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the economics of the wildlife tourist industry, using the example of Botswana. It shows that wildlife tourism offers both a major economic potential for developing countries, even allowing for the necessary investment in infrastructure, and an opportunity to manage sustainably wildlife resources. Wildlife-based tourism is a non-consumptive means of using wild resources to benefit human populations. The exploitation of elephants for their ivory is perceived to threaten their survival in many African nations. Many environmentalists are uneasy with the notion of developing the utilization of wildlife as a means to protecting it. In Botswana, the main factor competing with wildlife is the increasing development of livestock herds, which are favoured by subsidies in a society where cattle have both market and non-market significance. The aim of district land use plans in Botswana is to minimize this conflict. Cattle numbers have grown rapidly in parallel with human population growth.
