A systematic account is given of the aquatic gastropod fauna of the lower Okavango River in Namibia and Botswana, and of the East Caprivi area in Namibia, based on collections made mostly in 1983-86 from about 100 different sites. A total of 20 living species are reported, 9 of them for the first time from this area: Bellamya monardi, Lobogenes michaelis, Cleopatra elata, Afrogyrus coretus, Segmentorbis angustus, S. kanisaensis, Bulinus scalaris, B. depressus and B. tropicus. All are found outside this area and most are widely distributed Afrotropical species. Some do not occur farther south than the Okavango Delta, while others reach a south-western limit here but occur at greater latitude in the eastern tropical corridor on the coast of Natal. Bulinus globosus and Biomphalaria pfeifferi occur throughout the study area and are intermediate hosts for schistosome parasites of man and livestock.
The Spitzkoppe Community Campsite in western Namibia lies in an area with very limited water resources. Water scarcity places a constraint on community income generation and development opportunities. The existing water resources are overexploited and to ensure future water security, the community must take sustainable water management into consideration in their daily lives and business ventures, including tourism. This has been successfully achieved at the Spitzkoppe Community Campsite through a combination of high community motivation, organisation and action, the involvement of researchers and trainers in water resource management and support from developers. The most appropriate water management solutions were found through ongoing practical testing of different strategies and technologies over two years. This paper presents a case study of a community-based tourist camp at Spitzkoppe and traces the community's progress towards developing an alternative way to combat desertification and a potentially lucrative tourist business.
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