London, UK - 6 April 2010

A safari lodge operating on the traditional lands of the Gana Bushmen of Botswana has come under fire from Survival International days before the company is listed on the Botswana and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. Wilderness Safaris’ Kalahari Plains Camp opened on Bushman land inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2009, although, according to Survival International (SI), the company failed to obtain the prior consent of the nearby Bushman community. (In Bushman society, decisions are made by discussion and agreement by consensus: there are no official leaders or ‘chiefs’)

The Bushmen are the indigenous people of southern Africa, and have lived there as nomadic hunter-gatherers for tens of thousands of years – since ice-sheets covered much of the world. The reserve was created in 1961 to "protect" the traditional territory of the 5,000 Gana, Gwi and Tsila Bushmen and the game they depend on. However, in 2002, the Botswana government evicted the Bushmen from the reserve, an act that was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Botswana High Court in 2006. Despite the ruling, the government has continued to bann the Bushmen from accessing a borehole in the reserve, on which they rely for water, leading to at least one death from dehydration, according to SI.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur for indigenous peoples, James Anaya, recently criticised the Botswana government for falling short of ‘international human rights standards’ and argued that Bushmen in the reserve ‘face harsh and dangerous conditions due to a lack of access to water’. The Bushmen have launched further litigation against the government to gain access to the borehole, and a court hearing is set for 9th June 2010.

While Bushmen struggle without access to water, which Wilderness Safaris itself describes as ‘the most precious commodity in the desert’, tourists visiting the Kalahari Plains Camp are treated to a bar and swimming pool, as well as a ‘Bushman walk’.

Wilderness Safaris will list on the Botswana and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges on 8th April 2010 but SI calls for a boycott of the camp. Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today, ‘The reserve is largely traditional Bushman land, tourists shouldn't be going there at all until the Bushmen are treated fairly.’

There are 100,000 Bushmen in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Angola, belonging to many different peoples.

Update 11 May 10:
Survival International has urged the World Travel and Tourism Council to withdraw Wilderness Safaris from the list of nominees for its annual awards.
Survival’s director, Stephen Corry, said today "Awarding a tourism company which has shown no regard for the rights and welfare of indigenous people an accolade such as this is wholly inappropriate. The WTTC needs to withdraw Wilderness Safaris and send a clear message to the tourism industry that the violation of indigenous peoples’ rights will not be tolerated." The Award winners are to be announced on May 26.

Update 27 May 10:
Wilderness Safaris failed to win a prize however Botswana Tourism Board won WTTC's  Tourism for Tomorrow award in the '‘Destination Stewardship’ category. Criticising this, Survival director, Stephen Corry, said "The Botswana Tourism Board is violating UN norms on indigenous peoples. If this is prize-winning ‘sustainable tourism’, it highlights the emerging conflict between tribal peoples and the way their lands are used to benefit rich tourists and the companies which service them. Tourists might think about whether they really want to pay for this before visiting Botswana". Details

Update 5 August 10:
The UN Assembly passed a resolution on July 28 that declares access to water as 'essential to the full enjoyment of life and all human rights', after receiving 122 votes in favour of the resolution. Botswana abstained from voting. Just a week before, a Botswana High Court judge dismissed the Bushmen’s application for permission to use a borehole inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The Botswana government had sealed the Bushmen’s water borehole when it evicted them from the reserve in 2002. However, it has drilled new boreholes for wildlife only and allowed the opening of the luxury Wilderness Safari Lodge on Bushman land complete with swimming pool. Details