Nature in Zambia

Zambia has fourteen broad ecosystem types in the NBSAP2 baseline, including forests, thickets, woodlands and grasslands. Important landscape mosaics include miombo, mopane, munga and Kalahari woodlands, dambos, seasonal grasslands, wetlands, rivers and lakes. Dambos are seasonally wet, shallow depressions or grassland wetlands. Major floodplain systems include the Kafue Flats, Bangweulu, Barotse and Zambezi floodplains, while the Luangwa Valley, Lake Tanganyika and Mweru-Luapula support distinctive aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Annual flooding moves nutrients, produces fish and birds, replenishes groundwater and reduces flood pressure in some areas. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife, within the Ministry of Tourism, manages wildlife areas. Official DNPW webpages give different figures: one overview lists 20 National Parks and 36 Game Management Areas, while a wildlife page lists 19 National Parks, 34 Game Management Areas and about 233,900 square kilometres. One overview also describes protected wildlife areas as covering approximately 30% of Zambia. These figures should be checked against the current official register before being used for planning or publication. A Game Management Area, or GMA, is an area where wildlife conservation is combined with regulated use, management planning and community participation. GMAs can allow sustainable wildlife use, subject to licences, quotas, concessions, management plans and applicable conditions. National Parks generally allow access throughout the year, but rain can make some roads, tracks and parks difficult or impossible to reach. Zambia also has wildlife and bird sanctuaries, community forests, joint forest management areas, Ramsar wetlands and other conservation designations. A Ramsar Site is a wetland recognised as internationally significant under the Ramsar Convention. Zambia joined the Convention in 1991 and has eight Ramsar Sites covering about 4,030,500 hectares, including the Kafue Flats, Bangweulu Wetlands, Busanga Swamps, Luangwa Floodplains, Mweru wa Ntipa, Zambezi Floodplains, Lukanga Swamps and Lake Tanganyika. Ramsar status supports wise use and management; it does not create a general ban on fishing, farming or other activities. Mosi-oa-Tunya, also known as Victoria Falls, is a transboundary natural World Heritage Site inscribed in 1989. The Zambian part covers about 3,779 hectares. The waterfall is approximately 1,708 metres wide, and the surrounding gorges were formed through river erosion. Kafue Flats has been a Biosphere Reserve since 2022 and is also a Ramsar Site. It is on Zambia's tentative World Heritage list, as are places including Bangweulu Wetlands, Kalambo Falls, Lower Zambezi National Park, Kasanka National Park and the Zambezi Headwaters. A tentative-list entry is not the same as World Heritage inscription. Zambia's wildlife includes wild animals, wild bird species and indigenous uncultivated vegetation. Notable species and habitats include the Kafue lechwe, endemic to the Kafue Flats, Chaplin's barbet, endemic to south-central Zambia, black lechwe, shoebill, wattled crane, African wild dog, elephant, lion, hippopotamus, crocodile and diverse fish populations. The NBSAP2 baseline records 24 threatened mammal species, 74 amphibian species, 156 reptile species and 490 fish species, with estimates of about 289 endemic fish species. These figures come from a baseline with limitations in age and coverage and do not constitute a current complete inventory. Nature use can be non-consumptive or consumptive. Viewing wildlife, photography, birdwatching, walking safaris, angling, canoeing and boat trips are common non-consumptive activities. Hunting, fishing, collecting forest products and capturing wildlife are regulated activities that can require a licence, permit, concession, quota or approved management plan. Illegal hunting, trophy trade and unauthorised capture are prohibited. DNPW provides forms and electronic services for activities such as hunting, capture, fishing, photographic use, guiding and export permits. A permit for one activity does not replace a separate wildlife, forestry, tourism or environmental approval when another legal requirement applies. Park visits generally involve a park-entry fee and may also involve vehicle, vessel, activity, guide or accommodation charges. A 2025 Zambia Tourism Board fee guide gave examples of daily citizen fees of K44.80 for Kafue, K55.60 for South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi, and K33.60 for Mosi-oa-Tunya. Examples for international visitors were 20 US dollars for Kafue, 25 US dollars for South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi, and 10 US dollars for Mosi-oa-Tunya. The same guide listed camping at K42 for citizens or residents and 5 US dollars for international visitors. Fees can change, so the current tariff should be confirmed with DNPW or Zambia Tourism before travel. Community institutions have defined roles in wildlife and forest management. A local community in a GMA or open area can apply to register a Community Resource Board, or CRB. A CRB normally includes seven to ten elected community representatives, a council representative, a Chief and a ministerial representative, with a three-year term. Its functions can include integrated human and natural-resource management, co-management, community scouts, management plans and benefit agreements. A CRB does not create general individual ownership of wildlife. Settlements in a GMA must follow the applicable general management plan. Mining in a GMA requires prior written notice to the Director and ministerial conditions under an approved environmental assessment. A community forest management group consists of people living in or near a forest. The Director can recognise the group with the consent of the Chief, after which a community forestry agreement and management plan define the permitted activities. Such agreements can cover medicinal herbs, honey, timber, fuelwood, grass and grazing, forest industries, eco-tourism, recreation and scientific or educational use. The group must protect, conserve and manage the forest, use traditional rights sustainably, protect sacred groves and protected trees, and respond to illegal harvesting and fires. Joint forest management committees can include traditional leaders, the Forestry Department, agriculture, water, lands, fisheries, the local authority, licence holders, the wildlife ministry and community representatives. Revenue and benefits follow the approved plan. Projects that may affect the environment require written approval from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency, or ZEMA, before they begin. ZEMA reviews environmental assessments, monitors implementation and can involve the public. Starting a project without the required environmental assessment can be an offence. Environmental approval does not replace wildlife, forestry, tourism or other permits. Nature-based tourism is concentrated in places such as South Luangwa, Kafue, Lower Zambezi, Mosi-oa-Tunya, Kasanka, Lochinvar, Blue Lagoon and Nsumbu. Rain affects road, track and river access. Wildlife encounters, deep water, heat, fire and floods create practical risks, so visitors should follow park rules, use authorised guides where required, keep to permitted routes and respect activity or access restrictions. Seasonal and flash floods, drought and dry spells, extreme heat, wildfire, erosion, land degradation and localised landslides affect ecosystems. The severe 2023–2024 drought showed the scale of national water and livelihood pressure. Climate projections indicate hotter conditions, more variable rainfall and potentially more intense dry periods and floods. These changes can alter wetland hydrology, fire patterns, fish production, wildlife movement and habitat quality. Major pressures include deforestation, forest conversion, charcoal and fuelwood demand, wildfire, habitat fragmentation, mining, roads, agricultural and settlement encroachment, unsustainable fishing, poaching, invasive species, pollution, pesticides, upstream changes in river flows and climate change. The NBSAP2 baseline refers to about 249 forest reserves and reports that 51.37% were encroached or depleted at the historical assessment point; this is not a current national measurement. Pressure and human-wildlife conflict are generally greater in GMAs than in National Parks, although conditions vary by place. DNPW is the first responder for human-wildlife conflict. Incidents should be reported to DNPW or the relevant regional office. Responses can involve wildlife officers, wildlife police, veterinary teams, monitoring, early-warning systems, GPS collars, aerial surveillance, chilli, firecrackers, blasting, watchtowers, electric fencing, community radio, safe grain storage, village land-use planning and community scouts or CRBs. Conflict can result from habitat encroachment, shared water, forage and migration routes, breeding dispersal, climate conditions and other ecological factors. The official sources reviewed do not establish a universal compensation entitlement, so compensation should not be assumed. People should not encroach on habitat or retaliate illegally against wildlife. Nature education has a formal but distributed structure. DNPW's mandate includes public education. In 2025, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Education worked to revitalise Environmental Education Clubs through the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training, Primary and Secondary directorates. Other routes include school clubs, teacher orientation, DNPW and community sensitisation, Biosphere research and education, and non-formal programmes. The Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust around South Luangwa is a local example offering school clubs and field learning. Access and cost depend on the programme; no universal national nature course or credential was identified.