The Area - Moremi Wildlife Reserve

Moremi Reserve is situated at the heart of the Okavango Delta and was the first wildlife area to be set aside by tribal people rather than colonial powers. In the early 1960's a Maun resident, Robert Kay, initiated the movement for a game reserve in the Delta. After correspondence with the Game Officer of Bechuanaland protectorate, the Fauna Preservation Society in London, and a meeting with the Batawana tribe, the Fauna Conservation Society of Ngamiland was formed in 1962.  In 1963 the Batawana Tribal Administration approved setting up a reserve in the Khwai/Mogohelo area. At the same time a press appeal was launched in London in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund and attended by Chief Designate Letsholathebe Moremi with the reserve later being named after him - "Moremi Wildlife Reserve".

1964 saw the start of the reserve with nine game guards, three Land Rovers and a five ton lorry. In the beginning tourism was slow, with gate receipts for 1966 totalling P785 (this is now the price that two adults with one vehicle will pay per night to stay in a Moremi public campsite).

The early 1970's, however, saw a rapid increase in tourism with 4,500 visitors in 1971. In the late 1970's the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) became responsible for management and the government for administration, enabling the government to take a share of gate revenues. The reserve was initially extended in 1976 to include Chief's Island and again in 1992 increasing the reserve from 3875 to 4871 sq. km.

Although the reserve is the only statutorily protected part of the Okavango Delta, it is surrounded by a buffer zone of land, which is carefully controlled in terms of wildlife management. The reserve itself is also unfenced therefore allowing free movement of animals within the Delta according to seasonal migrations. Moremi now extends east and northwards to join Chobe National Park, ensuring a continuous area of protected land all the way to Kasane.