Luambe National Park is located in the Eastern 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 ...

. The park is situated north-east of the famous South Luangwa National Park, and south of the North Luangwa National Park. Like its neighbours, it is located in the Luangwa River rift valley. The small park (300 km²) lies on the flat valley bottom, next to the river. The ecoregion at the site is

Zambezian and Mopane woodlands The Zambezian and mopane woodlands is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa. The ecoregion is characterized by the mopane tree ''(Colophospermum mopane)'', and extends across portions ...

, a woodland savanna type more tolerant of the hotter drier conditions at the bottom of the valley than the

Miombo The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

woodland savanna which covers most of the country. The elevation is 500–700 metres above sea level. In some places the trees are quite dense, in others they give way to grassland. The life force of the Luangwa Valley is the Luangwa River. In the rainy season it floods and as it recedes, lagoons remain at the side of the main channel. The river does not dry up completely at Luambe but by the end of the dry season flows are reduced to a trickle. The river scene changes through the year according to the water level, which changes the topography of its banks and floodplain. This combination of water and land has created a very special ecosystem. In Luambe, there are numerous lagoons, which are visited by animals and birds in the dry season and which promote biodiversity. Luambe National Park was unfunded until 1999. As a consequence, excessive poaching led to a drastic decline in wildlife. Only a few shy animals remained. ''Luangwa-Wilderness e.V.'', a non-profit association, aims to help with the preservation and rebuilding of the park. This is done in close cooperation with the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and with the involvement of local communities. Lessons learnt from the neighbouring North Luangwa National Park, through work undertaken by the

Frankfurt Zoological Society Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) is an international conservation organization founded in 1858 with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. FZS focuses on maintaining biodiversity and conserving wildlife and ecosystems in protected areas an ...

, illustrated how animal populations can be boosted with appropriate management and planning. In the last three years, the building of a lodge in Luambe National Park has already aided a good recovery and improvement in wildlife numbers. The overall aim is that the Luambe National Park will be managed by Zambians in the future and will be open to tourism with the sole aim to preserve a unique part of Africa. Longer term, plans exist to establish corridors between the northern and southern parks, as happens in the

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park is a 35,000 km² peace park that is in the process of being formed. It will link the Limpopo National Park (formerly known as Coutada 16) in Mozambique, Kruger National Park in South Africa, Gonarezhou Natio ...

, consisting of the

Limpopo National Park The Limpopo National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Limpopo) was born when the status of Coutada 16 Wildlife Utilisation Area in Gaza Province, Mozambique, was changed from a hunting concession to a protected area. It forms part of the Great Limpop ...

(Mozambique), Kruger National Park (

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

) and

Gonarezhou National Park Gonarezhou National Park is a national park located in southeastern Zimbabwe. It is situated in a relatively remote corner of Masvingo Province, south of Chimanimani along the Mozambique border. Owing to its vast size, rugged terrain and its loc ...

(

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

External links

Website

Kruger National ParkSouth Africa
{{authority control National parks of Zambia Geography of Eastern Province, Zambia

See also

External links