Hope for vital Zambian wetland

A new investment is set to restore the Kafue Flats and strengthen community resilience

- Mwape Sichilongo

Over the years working with communities across Zambia's expansive Kafue Flats, I have seen first-hand how deeply people’s lives and culture are tied to this vast wetland.

Families depend on its waters for fish, grazing land for livestock and fertile soils for farming that sustain livelihoods and economies.

While it is home to the endangered Wattled and Grey Crowned cranes and several bird species, I have witnessed the growing strain on the important ecosystem and on livelihoods. Droughts, floods, degraded grazing areas, loss of wildlife, declining fish stocks, fires, invasive plant species and the effects of climate change are changing the landscape and the lives of the communities that call the Kafue Flats home.

Now, an investment through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) offers renewed hope for restoring the Kafue Flats and strengthening community resilience.

The project was developed by the ministry of green economy and environment and the ministry of tourism, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature and the International Crane Foundation as implementing agencies, under the Kafue Flats Restoration Partnership, a 20-year collaborative management partnership agreement for the sustainable management and restoration of the Kafue Flats.