Help Save Kasanka National Park!
The Kasanka Trust, who works closely with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, have set up an online petition and are now asking everyone who cares about the future of Zambian wildlife, to support their campaign.
The Trust has submitted a statement to the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) urging them to refuse permission for a proposed commercial agriculture development that would severely impact on the integrity of the park’s ecosystems if it were to go ahead. Whilst ZEMA make their decision, the fate of the park, its wildlife and the surrounding communities that depend on it, hangs in the balance.
More threats to the park and Game Management Area
Meanwhile, the Zambian Ministry of Energy has signed an implementation agreement to build Zambia’s first wind energy plant. Although renewable energies are good news, the proposed location of this new wind farm is directly in the flightpath of Kasanka’s internationally important migratory colony of straw-coloured fruit bats. This now poses a severe threat to the bat population.
Every year, Kasanka National Park is visited by about ten million straw-coloured fruit bats, who migrate to the wetlands in the park. Their visit is not only a globally significant biological spectacle that draws in tourists which helps to underpin the fastest growing economic sector in Zambia, but the bats feeding habits are vital to the health of the flora and therefore the livelihoods of local farmers, in the areas surrounding the park.
The migrating bats make nightly foraging excursions, not only into the GMA, but often as far as Pensulo, approximately 50km south-southeast of the park – this is the proposed location for a new Pensulo Wind Farm. Commuting straw-coloured fruit bats fly at heights making them extremely vulnerable to collision with wind turbines. Global research has shown that wind turbines pose one of the largest threats to bat populations worldwide, documenting mass mortality of bats at wind energy plants.
The habitat immediately surrounding the Park, is a designated Game Management Area (GMA), called Kafinda GMA. This is now being illegally deforested by Lake Agro Industries, a subsidiary of the Tanzanian owned company – Lake Group. They also propose to abstract significant amounts of water from the Luwombwa River. This river feeds the park’s ecosystem as well as supporting the livelihoods of many local communities. Another subsidiary of Lake Group – Gulf Adventures – has already occupied 5,000ha of the GMA, even encroaching into the National Park, introducing non-native wildlife species into the area.
These developments pose a major threat to Kasanka National Park and the world’s largest concentration of mammals. The proposed new developments not only threaten our tourism industry, but have far reaching ecological consequences across the region and well into Central Africa, as these migrating fruit bats are critical for seed dispersal and reforestation.
How the Trust assists the local communities
The Kasanka Trust works closely with local farmers in the Kafinda GMA, implementing sustainable and efficient Climate-Smart farming techniques and livelihoods, reaching over 22,000 people in 2020. In addition, the Trust supports 20 local schools with their environmental education programmes, having built teacher’s housing and over the years, sponsored 180 young people through their schooling projects – seven have gone on to obtain bachelor degrees, whilst three more now have teaching diplomas. Without the Trust, none of these farmers or young people would receive any additional support.
The Trust’s aim is to provide long-term sustainable solutions to continue to support the local community, working in harmony to protect Zambia’s natural resources. These efforts would be severely compromised by the effects of these harmful developments.
They are now asking for your help
Following their recent campaign – Proposed World Heritage Site under threat – the Kasanka Trust has submitted an objection to Lake Agro Industries’ application, supported by over 40 organisations from Zambia and beyond, representing the tourism industry, community groups, conservation NGOs, researchers and filmmakers. They are also aware of over 500 separate representations made directly to ZEMA by organisations and members of the public.
But they are not stopping there! The Trust is now urging the Zambian Government to resist all development that threatens Kasanka National Park, its wildlife and the surrounding communities. Positive development, which brings food security, jobs and renewable energy to the Zambian people should be encouraged, but only in appropriate locations where negative impacts on the environment and local communities, do not outweigh the benefits.
How you can help
- You can sign their petition
- Visit their Facebook Page and share the news as widely as possible and encourage others to join in
- If you have any spare funds, then please make a donation – even a small amount can help the non-profit making Trust to cover their expenses for their much needed media campaign, to help local stakeholders to have a voice and to obtain legal representation if and when needed.
Zambia’s national parks should receive the highest level of protection because of their unique flora and fauna and Kasanka National Park is no exception. You can find out more at www.kasanka.com
Kasanka National Park bat photographs ©Daniel Hargreaves