Responsible tourism in Southern Africa

However, these successes are only one side of the story. Since the 1990s, a series of government clearances have removed virtually all the San from the CKGR, and placed them in government camps. In 2006, the San won a court case for their right to return to the reserve, but the government sealed a water borehole and arrested and beat those found hunting to feed their families, effectively making it impossible for them to survive on their ancestral lands. Additionally, in many cases across Namibia, the gazetting of protected areas means that local communities are being evicted - and many San now find themselves landless. The loss of access to their traditional hunting grounds means that many are malnourished and dependent on food aid - as well as at risk of losing the traditions, skills and knowledge of the landscape that have been acquired over thousands of years.

What you can do
Survival International campaigns for tribal rights across the globe. Their San campaign representative spoke to Responsible Travel about San tourism in Botswana: "Ironically, on its official tourism website, the government uses images of Bushmen wearing animal skins and hunting, and at the same time it’s not allowing them to do that. The only Bushmen that tourists can visit are the ones outside the CKGR, who are of course not living day to day in the way they’re showing tourists that they are because the government doesn’t allow it. None of the Bushmen that actually live in the CKGR are involved in tourism because they’ve been excluded by the government from anything that will allow them to have their own economy in any way. It’s important that tourists are aware of this, and to know that any tour operator claiming that a San bushwalk shows how they live today and how well they’ve adapted is completely false.”

If you choose to go on a San tour, ensure your tour operator has experienced what they are selling – it’s the only way they will know how ethical the tour is. Ask them if the tour is genuine, is it sensitive to the San culture, and how do the San benefit from the tourists? There has to be a benefit for the tourists and the people involved, otherwise it’s exploitation.

Many San complain about the way they are treated by tourists and guides – they walk into San villages and homes uninvited, don’t greet them, and take photographs without permission. Be sure to treat them as respectfully as you would any other host, and refuse to participate in any tour where the San are visibly uncomfortable with your presence.

‘Canned hunting’ is another story entirely. This nasty practice is a growing issue in South Africa, where organisers take lions and tigers and breed them in captivity. In a number of cases, these breeders then advertise for volunteers in to look after the cubs – bottle feeding them, hugging them, walking them and playing with them as if they were kittens – so they become habituated. The volunteer thinks they are doing a worthy job, but actually those big cats will be sold on to a canned hunting farm – a tourist facility where rich westerners can come in, shoot themselves a lion, and keep the pelt and a distasteful picture as a souvenir of their abject bravery. Because the lions have been habituated by unsuspecting volunteers, they don’t have the inherent fear that a wild lion would have of humans, so they’re easy pickings. It’s an expensive, distasteful and disgusting way to guarantee a dead lion. Read more on our stance on this issue here.

What you can do
Any responsible tourist won’t be heading to a canned hunting facility – but there are a number of ways in which they could involuntarily be supporting this industry.

Jeremy Smith, co-author of Clean Breaks by Rough Guides and founder of the Fair Game tourism initiative – explains how to ensure you are not getting involved: “Real walking safaris in the bush with an armed guide to protect you in the wilds are an incredible experience. But stay clear of any trips that offer the opportunity to walk with and pet animals in small private locations where there are semi domesticated lions or other animals wandering around. You can even walk with a tiger, which isn't native to South Africa! Some of these organisations say they are aiding conservation through research, but their claims are mostly dubious. Most of all though, it promotes the wrong relationship between us and wild animals.”

What you can do
Be very aware of your water use. Short showers, flushing only when necessary and reporting any leaky taps all help. Water conservation in these desert nations needs to be a way of life. Some smart lodges even provide buckets to put in your shower to catch unused water, especially while you are waiting for it to heat up; this can then be reused for cleaning or watering plants.