Luengue-Luiana National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Luengue-Luiana) is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Geography

The park covers an area of 22,610 km². It located in

Cuando Cubango Cuando Cubango (Umbundu: Kwando Kubango Volupale) is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appoin ...

Province in the southeastern corner of Angola. The park is bounded on the west and southwest by the

Kavango River The Okavango River (formerly spelled Okovango or Okovanggo), Also known as the Cubango River, is a river in southwest Africa. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for . It begins at an elevation of in ...

, on the south by the border with

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, on the east by the

Cuando River The Cuando River (or Kwando in the non-colonial spelling) is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called t ...

which forms the border with

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

, and on the north by

Longa-Mavinga National Park Mavinga is a National Park in Kuando Kubango Province in south-eastern Angola. It covers an area of . The Park was proclaimed in 2011 along with the neighbouring Luengue-Luiana National Park, which measures . The two parks are contiguous and manag ...

.Tarr, Peter (2020). ''Management Plan for the Luengue- Luiana National Park, Kuando Kubango, Angola 2016-2020''. Southern Africa Regional Environment Programme

/ref>

Ecology

The majority of the park is open woodland. The predominant trees are species of '' Burkea (plant), Burkea, Baikiaea,

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' ...

'', and ''

Erythrophleum ''Erythrophleum'' is a genus of legume in the family Fabaceae. A partial list of species includes: * ''Erythrophleum africanum'' * ''Erythrophleum chlorostachys'' * ''Erythrophleum couminga'' Baill.Julbernardia ''Julbernardia'' is a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae. There are eight species found in tropical Africa. They are medium-sized trees. Species accepted by the Plants of the World Online as of February 2021: *''Julbernardia baumii'' *''Ju ...

'', and ''

Guibourtia ''Guibourtia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Fabaceae, also known by the common names as Rhodesian copalwood, African Rosewood, Amazique, Bubinga, Kevazingo, and Ovangkol. Scientific Name being Guibourtia spp. Description ''Guibourt ...

'' in the northern areas of the park. The spacing of the trees varies considerably from place to place. The ground is covered with sparse grass, in part due to leached sandy soil which holds little water near the surface. There are small areas of dense woodland in the north-central area of the park. Along the Cuando River are expanses of seasonally- and perennially-flooded grasslands 10-15 kilometers wide, and smaller areas along the park's other rivers.

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

is predominant closest to the rivers and in deeper waters, with species of ''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...

'' and ''

Miscanthus ''Miscanthus'', or silvergrass, is a genus of African, Eurasian, and Pacific Island plants in the grass family, Poaceae. ; Species * ''Miscanthus changii'' Y.N.Lee – Korea * ''Miscanthus depauperatus'' Merr. – the Philippines * ''Miscanthus ...

'' common in shallower water, upstream areas, and seasonally-dry areas. The park is home to a broad variety of wildlife, including large mammals like

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

''(Loxodonta africana)'',

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

(''Giraffa camelopardalis''),

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

(''Diceros bicornis''),

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 extan ...

(''Hippopotamus amphibius''),

common eland The common eland (''Taurotragus oryx''), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is a species of the family Bovidae and genus ''Taurotragus''. An adult male is ...

(''Taurotragus oryx''),

plains zebra The plains zebra (''Equus quagga'', formerly ''Equus burchellii''), also known as the common zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. Its range is fragmented, but spans much of southern and eastern Africa south of ...

(''Equus quagga''), African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer''),

sable antelope The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genus ''Hi ...

(''Hippotragus niger''),

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

(''Panthera pardus''),

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies ar ...

(''Kobus ellipsiprymnus''), and

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 ...

(''Aepyceros melampus''). The park is home to many smaller mammals and birds, and the park's wetlands are home to migratory and resident water birds. Wildlife was diminished by poaching and over-hunting during the long

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

. Wildlife has recovered somewhat since the end of the war, but poaching, bushmeat hunting, and

land mines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatic ...

remain threats to its recovery. The park's many land mines kill and maim elephants, African buffalo, hippos, and other large animals. They also impede anti-poaching patrols and limit the park's potential to accommodate

eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

. In 2019,

HALO Trust The HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life-support Organization) is a non-political and non-religious registered British charity and American non-profit organization which removes debris left behind by war, in particular land mines. With over 10,000 staf ...

, an international NGO dedicated to removing land mines, estimated that 153 minefields remained in Luengue-Luiana and Longa-Mavinga national parks. In July 2019 the Angolan Government pledged $60 million to clear landmines in the region, which HALO and the government hope to complete by 2025.Somerville, Keith. "Angola: Demining key to conservation plans". ''Global Geneva'', 21 November 2019. Accessed 20 June 2020

/ref>

Transfrontier conservation area

The park is part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, a group of adjacent protected areas in the upper

Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

and Okavango basins that extend across portions of Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The park adjoins Zambia's

Sioma Ngwezi National Park Sioma Ngwezi National Park is a 5,000-square-kilometre park in the south west corner of Zambia. It is undeveloped and rarely visited, lacking roads and being off the usual tourist tracks, but this may change in the future. Description Like most n ...

across the Cuando River to the east, and Bwabwata National Park to the south in Namibia.

History

During the colonial period, hunting reserves (''coutadas'') were established in the region. The area saw little fighting during the 1961-1974

Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...

. However the region was the scene of fighting during the 1975-2002

. The combatants placed thousands of

in the park, and many still remain. In September 2019

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

visited the park and spoke to the urgent importance of removing land mines from the region, and praised the government's recent commitment of funds to land mine removal. The park was created in 2011, by National Assembly Decree (No. 38/11 29 December) which proclaimed the Luengue-Luiana and

Mavinga Mavinga is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola. One of the three municipalities in Angola. Predominantly inhabited by the Mbunda and municipality had a population of 27,196 in 2014. It comprises the communes of Maving ...

national parks. The new park includes the former Luiana and Mucusso reserves. The park is governed by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

References

{{authority control National parks of Angola Cuando Cubango Province Protected areas established in 1966 1966 establishments in Angola