African Parks To Help Protect Kafue National Park
This week, the Zambian Government announced it will be boosting the protection for Kafue National Park by working with African Parks. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed which will implement a Priority Support Plan that will increase technical and financial support for the park worth US$3 million over 12 months.
The Honorable, Hon. Ronald K. Chitotela, Minister of Tourism and Arts said that the MoU will help Zambia to realise the potential of Kafue National Park – “It is essential that we invest in the protection of our wildlife and enhance the infrastructure for tourism. Having worked together for 18 years, we believe that African Parks is a partner who can help us to actualize the park’s potential in contributing to the economy and the wellbeing of our people.”
The Priority Support Plan will be a collaboration between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and African Parks. Its short-term objectives include improving infrastructure, supporting the DNPW’s law enforcement and conducting conservation baseline studies. They will work alongside key stakeholders, including local communities, tourism operators and other conservation organisations.
“We are delighted to conclude this MoU with African Parks which will allow us to access support required to protect this iconic national park and its rich biodiversity for all Zambians” said the Director of the DNPW, Dr Chuma Simukonda. “The sheer scale of Kafue National Park and its associated challenges require enormous resources to manage it successfully”.
African Parks’ CEO Peter Fearnhead said they “look forward to supporting the Zambian Government’s vision to conserve this extremely precious resource and to optimise its long-term social, economic and ecological benefits”.
Kafue National Park is situated within in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), which straddles the boundaries of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Priority Support Plan for Kafue is being funded through the Dutch Postcode Lottery’s dreamfund grant, which was awarded to World Wide Fund for Nature, African Parks and the Peace Parks Foundation to assist KAZA partner states with various integrated initiatives.
About Kafue National Park
Although not at well known as other parks, Kafue is Zambia’s largest National Park, covers 22,400 km2, with a diverse range of habitats and a network of water channels dominated by the Kafue River and Lake Itezhi-Tezhi, which provide fresh water across the region.
The park has a wide range of wildlife, including lions, leopards, African wild dog, cheetah and elephants, and with 21 different species of antelope, has the highest diversity of antelope on the continent. It is also designated by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area, with a vast number of resident and migratory bird species, with almost 500 species recorded within the park.
African Parks
African Parks have been working in Zambia since 2003 and currently partner with the DNPW in both the Liuwa Plain National Park and the Bangweulu Wetlands. You can find out more about African Parks at www.africanparks.org
Main Photograph – Kafue National Park © Frank Weitzer