Lukanga Swamp is a major

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

in the Central Province of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

, about 50 km west of

Kabwe Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 202,914 at the 2010 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also ...

.Terracarta/International Travel Maps, Vancouver Canada: "Zambia, 2nd edition", 2000 Its permanently swampy area consists of a roughly circular area with a diameter of 40 to 50 km covering 1850 km², plus roughly 250 km² in the mouths of and along rivers discharging into it such as the Lukanga River from the north-east, plus another 500 km² either side of the

Kafue River The Kafue River is the longest river lying wholly within Zambia at about long. Its water is used for irrigation and for hydroelectric power. It is the largest tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it is the most centra ...

to the west and north-west, making 2600 km² in total.Google Earth
accessed 2007. It contains many lagoons such as Lake Chiposhye and Lake Suye but few large channels, and its average depth is only 1.5 m.

River connections and floodplains

The permanent swamp is surrounded by a seasonally-inundated

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

, varying from about 5 to 25 km wide in the south and east, up to 40 km in the north, and reaching the Kafue River and its swamps 25 km to the west and north-west. When the Kafue floods it overflows north-west through the normally dry Mwinuna channel and into the lower Lukanga River, while another channel drains out of the swamp back into the Kafue in the south-west. The Kafue meanders through its own swamps which are up to 10 km wide and extend for 90 km along the river. Numerous short rivers and streams flow into the swamp from the south, east and north, of which the Lukanga is the largest. In the rainy season the floodplains are inundated increasing the area of the wetland to 6000 km², reaching a maximum of 8000 km² at the peak flooding of a good rainy season.

Human population and fishing

There are several inhabited islands of higher ground which stay dry through the rainy season, mainly in an arc along the western edge of the permanent swamp, such as Chilwa Island and Chiposha Island. In addition the swamp contains floating islands of papyrus which support temporary fishing camps. No seasonal roads or bridges reach into the permanently swampy areas, and only one road crosses any part of the floodplain to any extent, a dry-season road from

(with a feeder from Mpongwe) going through Mukobwe and Ibondo to a ferry across the Kafue and on to Ngabwe. Two other dirt tracks come from Mumbwa in the south to the river near Mswebe and to the floodplain at Mwanamulambo. Despite its central location in the country, the Lukanga Swamp remains relatively inaccessible and even today government authorities in Kabwe and

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was about 3.3 millio ...

have relatively little knowledge of or effect on the area. The inhabitants of villages mainly around the north-east, east and southern floodplain practise traditional methods of fishing in the swamps and farm the edge of the floodplain. There is no commercial fishing of any size, but FAO reported a 1980 estimate of 2600 t for the fish catch, sold in the markets of Lusaka, Kabwe, and the

Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining. Traditionally, the term ''Copperbelt'' includes the ...

. A more recent report puts the figure at 1,200 t and notes declining catches due to over-fishing.Global Environment Facility (GEF)
: "Project Proposal, Zambia — Community Based Natural Resources Management and Biodiversity Conservation in the Lukanga Swamps." (2000). Website accessed 4 March 2007. There are some smaller commercial farms especially near the Great North Road which passes within 10 km of the floodplain at the south-eastern edge. Several large commercial farms and plantations, some with dry-season irrigation, have been established on the north side of the floodplain.

Wildlife and conservation issues

The floodplain is classed as the

Zambezian flooded grasslands The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife. Setting The Zambezian flooded grasslands can be found on seasonally- or permanently-flooded lowlands in the basin of the Zambezi and neighbo ...

ecoregion, and the surrounding woodland savanna is the

Central Zambezian miombo woodlands The Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion spans southern central Africa. Miombo woodland is the predominant plant community. It is one of the largest ecoregions on the continent, and home to a great variety of wildlife, including many larg ...

ecoregion, except on the south-east side which is Zambezian and mopane woodlands ecoregion. Flooded grasslands are considered to be productive and diverse owing to the nutrients brought by the flood and the fact they provide both grazing and aquatic habitats. The miombo woodland west of the

is a game management area stretching as far as

Kafue National Park Kafue National Park is the largest national park in Zambia, covering an area of about 22,400 km² (similar in size to Wales or Massachusetts). It is one of the largest parks in Africa and is home to 152 different species of mammals. The park ...

. Lukanga Swamp therefore could be considered a potential extension of that rich wildlife haven. Lukanga Swamp is home to 316 reported bird species. It supports populations of

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two exta ...

, and

crocodile Crocodiles (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 include all extant me ...

, and is considered an important site for conservation of

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 ...

, oribi, marsh mongoose,

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 ...

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 ran ...

, and python. The western side is visited by

elephant 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 Elephantida ...

, buffalo, eland and roan antelope. In 2000 the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) was reported to be under-resourced in the area and the swamps "are virtually unprotected, and poaching is excessive".

Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

for

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ...

production and for '

slash and burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

' and other types of farming is also reported as a major threat to the Lukanga Swamp

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...

mainly because it results in

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

of the land,

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality. Fluids ...

of the water and

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...

. In nearly all areas north-east of the swamp forests have been cleared especially for charcoal production, and land clearing for farming has been extensive on the north-east, east and southern sides of the swamp. Only the western side remains relatively untouched. The development of a tourism industry in the area, which (as has been seen for the national parks) results in greater wildlife conservation efforts, depends on providing access to this part from Mumbwa or Kabwe.

Origin of Lukanga Swamp

The nearly circular shape of the main permanent swamp has led to speculation that Lukanga Swamp may be an

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...

(astrobleme) formed by the impact of a

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object ...

. However research on the ground in 2002 found no evidence of impact

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...

in rocks of the area, concluding that the Lukanga Swamp is not an astrobleme.IngentaConnect Website
Katongo C.; Koeberl C.; Reimold W.U.; Mubu S.: “Remote sensing, field studies, petrography, and geochemistry of rocks in central Zambia: no evidence of a meteoritic impact in the area of the Lukanga Swamp.” Journal of African Earth Sciences, Volume 35, Number 3, October 2002, pp. 365-384. Accessed 1 March 2007. In the absence of other research data the origin of the swamp is unknown.

Footnotes

References

* Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996. {{coord, 14.22046, S, 27.64023, E, type:forest_region:ZM_dim:30000, display=title Ramsar sites in Zambia Flooded grasslands and savannas Kafue River Floodplains of Africa Geography of Central Province, Zambia Swamps of Africa Zambezian flooded grasslands Important Bird Areas of Zambia