Edition 40: Autumn 2007

With Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear cohorts recently zooming across its surface – for the entire world to see – the Makgadikgadi pan’s potential plight has come into focus. Pan expert Graham McCulloch discusses the path to its protection.

"A vast expanse of nothing.” It’s a common description of the Makgadikgadi salt pans in northern Botswana. Not a very awe-inspiring description of one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. The truth is it’s hard to describe the aura of the Makgadikgadi. The magic of the area, in fact, lies in a combination of many things that provide for a unique experience. As well as the endless horizons, colossal skies, prehistoric atmosphere, and the sheer timeless beauty of this vast expanse, myriad fascinating plants and animals somehow eke out an existence, full of miracle and tragedy in one of the most unpredictable and inhospitable environments on the planet. Few forget the feeling of standing on the edge of one of Mother Nature’s last wilderness frontiers. It’s enough to capture the imagination of even the most safari-fatigued critic.

And so, when Jeremy Clarkson, the charismatic car fanatic and presenter of that ever-popular TV series Top Gear, visited the pans recently, he too was captivated by its endless expanse and beauty. To many before him, the pans also represented an adventure, a challenge, and the idea of pitching his bravery and driving skills against the Makgadikgadi’s treacherous and intimidating reputation was irresistible. Such an adventure would make an epic episode of Top Gear, and, surely, promote the Makgadikgadi as a tourist destination across the globe. With his car-crazy partners in crime and a BBC film crew, he returned some months later to live out the Mad Max fantasy.

But hold on, before we get too excited, what of the impacts and implications of this adventure? The sight of this endless frontier that are the pans may give one the urge to take off in top gear and boldly go where no man has gone before, but while robust and devoid of life in appearance, the Makgadikgadi is, in fact, a delicately balanced wetland ecosystem with an abundance of wildlife that is highly sensitive to human’s increasing presence. Yes, the impacts of this kind of activity are indeed more serious and longer lasting than we would like to believe. The open pan is also a treacherous and inhospitable environment that demands great respect and years of experience. So why promote such an activity?

Environmental disturbance from vehicle activity on the pans manifests in many forms. Tyre tracks destroy the pan crust habitat where many tiny plants and animals survive sheltered from dehydration. Vehicle noise and other disturbance impacts on the breeding colonies of birds like flamingos that flock to the pans in their hundreds of thousands because it provides one of the few inaccessible breeding sites on the continent. Car and bike tracks bury and destroy a wealth of fossils and archaeological remains that are waiting to be discovered, catalogued and protected by the National Museum, and increase grass encroachment, which results in a reduction of the pan surface habitat to grassland. Driving across the pan also disturbs the pan crust and contributes significantly to atmospheric dust that salinates soils downwind. The impacts are many and far reaching. A lack of conservation status for the majority of the pans means that few regulations exist and little control of these activities is currently being carried out.

Top Gear’s Makgadikgadi adventure went ahead, despite concerns for the environment and its natural and archaeological importance. Clarkson and his team were, however, accompanied by a team of experienced guides from Botswana who led them on a pre-designated route and monitored their operations. This, however, did not prevent an international media frenzy, accusing Top Gear of a blatant disregard for the pans. Nor did it satisfy some of the serious concerns raised regarding its promotion of an activity that was both deleterious to the environment and potentially dangerous. These concerns call urgently for the implementation of swift and effective management and regulation measures.

There is no doubt, the pans cannot sustain mass numbers of self-drive tourists and other related activities without damaging the natural and archaeological resource that is driving and will continue to drive the tourism industry in the area. Rather than prevent people from seeing and experiencing the magic of the pans, effective control would mean encouraging tourism in a regulated and environmentally sustainable manner. Indeed, tourism has been regulated and controlled very successfully elsewhere, in areas less sensitive to disturbance as a result of similar concerns. Sticking to the same track can, for example, reduce some of the impacts on the environment as well as reduce the likelihood of getting stuck. Tour operators, guides and managers on the ground can help inform people and begin the process of control and regulation. With some consideration of the concerns raised here, regulation of our activities on the Makgadikgadi pans will mean protection of its unique and sensitive environment and the wildlife it contains so that we can enjoy its timeless beauty for many generations to come.