Book to start birding Tourism business in offing

KEOBONYE MAJATSIE
Correspondent | Tuesday February 23, 2010 00:00

Birdlife Botswana Chairman Harold Hester said The Avitourism Handbook is aimed at promoting Community-based Birding Tourism as an untapped opportunity in Botswana and so the handbook is necessary to guide and stimulate community groups to start utilising birds around their area for economic gains.  'The Avitourism Handbook has been produced in both English and Setswana to enhance community's better understanding and appreciation of birds,' he said.  He said the handbook production was made possible by financial support from the Environment Support Programme (ESP).

'This a joint initiative between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Botswana through the project called 'Bird Tourism: An untapped tool to link conservation and poverty alleviation in Botswana,' he said.He added that other support for the handbook production was obtained from the United Nations Development Programme/ Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF).

He said that this would be done through the 'Strategic partnerships to improve the financial and operational sustainability of protected areas' project (PIMS 3984 BD MSP) and Debswana's Jwaneng Mine (through the 'Empowering local communities to conserve Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori: A flagship for the Kalahari Desert ecosystem' project). (Sila Press Agency)