The Bangweulu Wetlands is a wetland ecosystem adjacent to

Lake Bangweulu Bangweulu — 'where the water sky meets the sky' — is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain.Camerapix: ''Spectrum Guide to Zambia.'' Camerapix Internation ...

in north-eastern Zambia. The area has been designated as one of the world's most important wetlands by the Ramsar Convention and an "Important Bird Area" by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

. African Parks began managing Bangweulu in partnership with Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife with the establishment of the Bangweulu Wetland Management Board in 2008.

Overview

The Bangweulu Wetlands ecosystem was first described in the 1940s. Bangweulu, which means "where the water sky meets the sky", is located mostly within Zambia's Northern Province and recognized by the Ramsar Convention as one of the world's most important wetlands. The region has floodplains, seasonally flooded grasslands, woodlands, and permanent

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s fed by the

Chambeshi The Chambeshi (or Chambezi) River of northeastern Zambia is the most remote River source, headstream of the Congo River (in length) and therefore it is considered the source of the Congo River. (However, by volume of water, the Lualaba River provi ...

, Luapula, Lukulu, and Lulimala rivers. The nonprofit conservation organization

African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on conservation, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and Finance Company, a private company, then under ...

manages a area of the greater Bangweulu ecosystem.

Flora and fauna

The ecosystem has ''

Cyperus papyrus ''Cyperus papyrus'', better known by the common names papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, is a species of aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a tender herbaceous perenn ...

'', floating grasses, miombo woodland, and reeds that support large populations of

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

s, fish, and water birds. Mammals include buffalo,

Burchell's zebra Burchell's zebra (''Equus quagga burchellii'') is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (John ...

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

common tsessebe The common tsessebe or sassaby (''Damaliscus lunatus lunatus'') is the southern, nominate subspecies of ''Damaliscus lunatus'', although some authorities have recognised it as an independent species. It is most closely related to the Bangweulu ts ...

elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...

, hippopotamus,

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...

s, jackals, oribi, reedbuck, roan and sable antelope, and

sitatunga The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, ...

. Bangweulu has the only remaining significant population of the black

lechwe The lechwe, red lechwe, or southern lechwe (''Kobus leche'') is an antelope found in wetlands of south-central Africa. Range The lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and easte ...

; There were an estimated 36,600 reported in 2020. Millions of straw-coloured fruit bats migrate to Bangweulu's Mushitu swamp forest in

Kasanka National Park Kasanka National Park is a park located in the Chitambo District of Zambia’s Central Province, Zambia, Central Province. At roughly , Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Kasanka was the first of Zambia’s national parks to b ...

. In 2016, African Parks partnered with Fondation Segré to relocate 600 animals, including hartebeest,

impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

, and puku, into the wetlands. Cheetahs were reintroduced to the reserve in late 2020, after almost a century of their absence. Bangweulu has been designated as an "Important Bird Area" by

. The wetlands are home to more than 400 bird species, including cormorants, ducks, egrets, geese, herons, ibises,

pygmy goose The pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus ''Nettapus'' which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all wildfowl. As the "perching ducks" are a paraphyletic group, they need to be placed elsewhere. ...

, and waders. Most notable is the shoebill, a vulnerable species threatened by habitat burning for farming, competition with fisheries, wildlife trade, and other disturbances. Other species recorded in Bangweulu include the

great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...

, saddle-billed stork,

African spoonbill The African spoonbill (''Platalea alba'') is a long-legged wading birdwattled crane.

Human–wildlife conflict

Bangweulu encompasses several villages, and an estimated 50,000–90,000 people depend on the wetlands, resulting in human–wildlife conflict. The ecosystem is threatened by habitat burning for farming,

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

, and poaching. The increased use of

mosquito net A mosquito net is a type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the di ...

s for fishing has decreased fish populations in Bangweulu and throughout Zambia. To combat these problems, African Parks developed several community programs and enterprise projects, including bee-keeping, sustainable fisheries management, and reproductive health education. As a result, poaching and other illegal activities have been largely contained, and fish stocks have managed to recover.

Conservation

In 2008, African Parks began managing Bangweulu with the establishment of the Bangweulu Wetland Management Board, which includes representation by African Parks, the

Zambia Wildlife Authority The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) was an autonomous agency of the Zambian Government established to manage and conserve Zambia’s wildlife estate comprising 20 National Parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation ...

, and six community members. Funding was secured by African Parks and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Through this partnership, African Parks is responsible for all management and operations of Bangweulu, including law enforcement, community development, biodiversity conservation, infrastructure and economic development. This public-private and community partnership is part of the Community Partnership Park concept created by the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environment Protection and Zambia Wildlife Authority's "Reclassification and Effective Management of National Protected Areas System" project. According to UNDP, the project seeks to "improve the management of existing Protected Areas through law enforcement and to propose new protected area categories to ensure the community owns and manages the natural resources in a sustainable manner". Past partners supporting Bangweulu Wetlands include the Bangweulu Wetlands Management Board and Kasanka Trust; current major funders supporting Bangweuu include WWF-The Netherlands, WWF-Zambia, and the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife, according to African Parks. The Working for Water Project's mission is to survey and protect Africa's major wetlands, including Bangweulu, the Niger and Okavango deltas, and

Sudd The Sudd (' or ', Dinka language, Dinka: Toc) is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's ''Mountain Nile, Baḥr al-Jabal'' section. The Arabic language, Arabic word ' is derived from ' (), meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The ...

and Zambezi. The University of Cape Town's

Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology The FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology is a South African biological research and conservation institute based at the University of Cape Town. The mission statement of the institute is ''“to promote and undertake scientific studies in ...

has worked to create conservation plans for the shoebill. African Parks and Fondation Segré's "Bangweulu Wetlands Wildlife Reintroduction Project" was initiated in 2016 and seeks to "recreate an ecologically viable protected area with the capacity to become sustainable".

References

External links

* * {{African Parks African Parks (organisation) Nature conservation in Zambia Floodplains of Africa Lake Bangweulu Wetlands of Zambia Zambezian flooded grasslands Important Bird Areas of Zambia