New book on conservation released

Prof Mogomotsi publishes an academic book on protected areas and tourism

Throughout the years, her research has served as an advocacy tool for the promotion of sustainable rural livelihoods through sustainable natural resources management. She has now published a book titled “Protected Areas and Tourism in Southern Africa: Conservation Goals and Community Livelihoods.

Prof Patricia Mogomotsi is a force to reckon with and her newly published book goes a long way to include a larger target audience, as a way of imparting her research skills. The book does not only target academics and students, but also policy- makers, NGOs and international organisations focusing on tourism and conservation, as well as communities living in or adjacent to Protected Areas, according to her. She explains that it was written in a simple language that can be easily understood by a broad range of stakeholders.

It was published last month and Prof Mogomotsi tells BG Style that, however, its table of contents was published a month earlier to attract people on what to expect in the book. “The early publishing of its table of contents built a lot of interest around the book, as we have received very good and encouraging feedback so far,” she says, emphasizing that, it reached some parts of the UK before it even reached Botswana.

The book was published by Routledge ( Taylor & Francis), in London and it discusses the complex relationship between Protected Areas and tourism and their impact on community livelihoods in a range of countries in Southern Africa. The book is structured into 5 main parts. Part 1 comprises of 4 chapters focusing on community– Protected Areas relations, looking at the impacts of such relations on local communities.

This week, some content was shared on social media, including Research in Tourism Economics. Prof Mogomotsi says that scholars in other countries like Tanzania also shared the book.

She further tells BG Style that publishing this book is a dream come true for her because it is something that has been in her plans. “After graduating with PhD at the age of 30, I made a 4- year plan or rather a ‘ wish list’ of things I would like to achieve before the age of 34. Two main ones were: promotion to the rank of Associate Professor by the age of 34 and the other was writing an academic book published by a reputable publisher by the age of 34. The promotion came a year later, and that allowed me to focus on other items in the ‘ wish list’, including the book,” she explains noting that publishing an academic book with a reputable publisher is one of the main milestones any academic could aim for.