The Zambian government signed a memorandum of understanding with the non-profit African Parks which will implement a plan to support protection and development of Kafue National Park.
The memorandum includes increases to technical and financial support for the park worth $3 million (R43 589 250) over a period of 12 months.
‘It is essential that we invest in the protection of our wildlife and enhance the infrastructure for tourism. Having worked together for 18 years, we believe that African Parks is a partner who can help us to actualize the park’s potential in contributing to the economy and the wellbeing of our people,’ said Minister of Tourism and Arts Honourable, Hon. Ronald K. Chitotela, in a statement.
This collaboration between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and African Parks has focused its objectives on improving critical infrastructure, supporting the DNPW’s law enforcement efforts and conducting conservation baseline studies.
The Park is Zambia’s largest wildlife sanctuary, covering 22,400 km2 of intact savannah and a network of water channels dominated by the Kafue River. It is inside the world’s largest transfrontier conservation area, which straddles the boundaries of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is home to significant populations of savannah wildlife, including elephants, large predators and 21 species of antelope – the highest diversity of antelope on the continent. Kafue is also designated by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area, with at least 515 bird species recorded.
‘The Kafue National Park is simply one of Africa’s best known protected areas and one of the ten largest on the African continent. We look forward to supporting the Zambian Government’s vision to conserve this extremely precious resource and to optimise its long-term social, economic and ecological benefits,’ said African Parks’ CEO Peter Fearnhead.
Picture: AfricanParks/Facebook
