Bangweulu Wetlands

The Bangweulu Wetlands ecosystem was first described in the 1940s.{{cite journal |last1=McKey |first1=Doyle B. |last2=Durécu |first2=Mélisse |last3=Pouilly |first3=Marc |last4=Béarez |first4=Philippe |last5=Ovando |first5=Alex |last6=Kaleb |first6=Mashuta |last7=Huchzermeyer |first7=Carl F. |date=27 December 2016 |title=Present-day African analogue of a pre-European Amazonian floodplain fishery shows convergence in cultural niche construction |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=113 |issue=52 |pages=14,938–14,943 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1613169114 |oclc=43473694 |pmc=5206554 |pmid=27980030 |doi-access=free}} Bangweulu, which means "where the water meets the sky", is located mostly within Zambia's Northern Province and recognized by the Ramsar Convention as one of the world's most important wetlands.{{cite web|last1=Boyes|first1=Steve|title=Working for Water: The Bangweulu Wetlands and Africa's Shoebill…|url=https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2012/12/07/working-for-water-the-bangweulu-wetlands-and-africas-shoebill/|website=National Geographic|access-date=10 October 2017|date=7 December 2012}} The {{Convert|9,850|km2|sqmi|adj=on}}{{cite book|last1=Gray|first1=William|title=Zambia and Victoria Falls|date=2007|publisher=New Holland Publishers|page=91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtRSM4h-TRgC&pg=PA91|access-date=10 October 2017|isbn=9781845378134}} region has floodplains, seasonally flooded grasslands, woodlands,{{cite web|title=Bangweulu Wetlands "Where the water meets the sky"|url=http://www.zm.undp.org/content/zambia/en/home/ourwork/environmentandenergy/successstories/bangweulu-wetlands-where-the-water-meets-the-sky--.html|publisher=United Nations Development Programme|access-date=10 October 2017|archive-date=19 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519213859/http://www.zm.undp.org/content/zambia/en/home/ourwork/environmentandenergy/successstories/bangweulu-wetlands-where-the-water-meets-the-sky--.html|url-status=dead}} and permanent swamps fed by the Chambeshi, Luapula, Lukulu, and Lulimala rivers. The nonprofit conservation organization African Parks manages a {{Convert|6000|km2|sqmi|adj=on}} area of the greater Bangweulu ecosystem.{{cite web|title=Bangweulu Wetlands|url=https://www.african-parks.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resources/2017-06/African_Parks_Bangweulu_Fact_Sheet.pdf|publisher=African Parks|access-date=4 December 2017}}

The ecosystem has Cyperus papyrus, floating grasses, miombo woodland,{{cite book|title=Lonely Planet Zambia, Mozambique & Malawi|date=1 June 2013|publisher=Lonely Planet|page=204|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pL1pVdwpTWYC&pg=PT204|access-date=10 October 2017|first1=Mary|last1=Fitzpatrick|first2=Michael|last2=Grosberg|first3=Trent|last3=Holden|first4=Kate|last4=Morgan|first5=Nick|last5=Ray|first6=Richard|last6=Waters|isbn=9781743216453}} and reeds that support large populations of crocodiles, fish, and water birds. Mammals include buffalo, Burchell's zebra, bushbuck, common tsessebe, elephants, hippopotamus, hyenas, jackals, oribi, reedbuck, roan and sable antelope, and sitatunga.{{cite news|last1=Chisha|first1=Christine|title=Malama set to make a difference|url=https://www.daily-mail.co.zm/malama-set-to-make-a-difference/|access-date=11 October 2017|work=Zambia Daily Mail|date=23 October 2016}} Bangweulu has the only remaining significant population of the black lechwe;{{cite book|last1=Kamweneshe|first1=Bernard Mwila|title=Ecology, Conservation and Management of the Black Lechwe (Kobus Leche Smithemani) in the Bangweulu Basin, Zambia|date=2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ag_soQEACAAJ|access-date=11 October 2017|publisher=University of Pretoria}} There were an estimated 36,600 reported in 2020. Millions of straw-coloured fruit bats migrate to Bangweulu's Mushitu swamp forest in Kasanka National Park.{{cite news|last1=Weaver|first1=Tony|title=Eight Million New Wonders of the World|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-272264395.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403173750/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-272264395.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 April 2018|access-date=11 October 2017|work=Cape Times|publisher=Sekunjalo Investments|date=11 November 2011|location=Cape Town|url-access=}} In 2016, African Parks partnered with Fondation Segré to relocate 600 animals, including hartebeest, impala, and puku, into the wetlands.{{cite web|title=Bangweulu Wetlands Wildlife Reintroduction Project|url=http://www.fondationsegre.org/bangweulu-wetlands-wildlife-reintroduction-project/|publisher=Fondation Segré|access-date=10 October 2017}} Cheetahs were reintroduced to the reserve in late 2020, almost a century after their absence.{{Cite web |title=Zambia Hails the Return of Cheetahs to one of Africa’s Most Important Wetlands |url=https://www.africanparks.org/zambia-hails-return-cheetahs-one-africas-most-important-wetlands |access-date=2023-05-23 |website=www.africanparks.org |language=en}}

{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=250

| image1 = 20160605 0400 Bangweulu Bec-ouvert africain.jpg | width1=1500 | height1=1000

| image2 = 20160605 0196 Bangweulu Hirondelle a collier.jpg | width2=1500 | height2=1000

| image3 = 20160604 0015 Bangweulu Grue caronculee.jpg | width3=1500 | height3=1000

| image4 = 20160605 0253 Bangweulu Guepier a collier bleu (cropped).jpg | width4=537 | height4=589

| footer = A variety of bird species live in Bangweulu, including the African openbill, banded martin, blue-breasted bee-eater, and wattled crane (displayed clockwise from top left), photographed in the wetlands in 2016

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Bangweulu has been designated as an "Important Bird Area" by BirdLife International. The wetlands are home to more than 400 bird species, including cormorants, ducks, egrets, geese, herons, ibises, pygmy goose, and waders. Most notable is the shoebill, a vulnerable species threatened by habitat burning for farming, competition with fisheries, wildlife trade, and other disturbances.Shoebill:

• {{Cite journal|title=Parental Nesting Behavior, Chick Growth and Breeding Success of Shoebills (Balaeniceps rex) in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia|date=March 2015|volume=38|issue=1|pages=1–9|journal=Waterbirds|doi=10.1675/063.038.0102|first1=Ralf H. E.|last1=Mullers|first2=Arjun|last2=Amar|s2cid=84828980}}
• {{Cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270545739|title=Shoebill Balaeniceps rex foraging behaviour in the Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia|date=May 2015|doi=10.2989/00306525.2014.977364|journal=Ostrich|volume=86|issue=1–2|pages=113–118|first1=Ralf|last1=Mullers|first2=Arjun|last2=Amar|s2cid=84194123|access-date=10 October 2015}} In May 2022, the Shoebill Captive Rearing and Rehabilitation Facility was established.{{cite web |title=Shoebill Conservation in Bangweulu - A Unique Solution for a Unique Bird |url=https://www.africanparks.org/shoebill-conservation-bangweulu-unique-solution-unique-bird |publisher=African Parks |access-date=20 February 2024}} The facility cares for chicks then release them back to the region. Other species recorded in Bangweulu include the great white pelican, saddle-billed stork, African spoonbill, and wattled crane.{{cite web|last1=Kamweneshe|first1=Bernard M.|title=Status of Ecology of Wattled Cranes in Bangweulu Basin, Zambia|url=https://www.savingcranes.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/pp261-265.pdf|access-date=10 October 2017|pages=261–265|via=International Crane Foundation}}

Bangweulu encompasses several villages, and an estimated 50,000–90,000 people depend on the wetlands, resulting in human–wildlife conflict.{{cite book|last1=McIntyre|first1=Chris|title=Zambia|date=5 July 2016|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|page=336|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69c5DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA336|access-date=11 October 2017|isbn=9781784770129}} The ecosystem is threatened by habitat burning for farming, overfishing, and poaching. The increased use of mosquito nets for fishing has decreased fish populations in Bangweulu and throughout Zambia.{{cite news|last1=Gettleman|first1=Jeffrey|title=Meant to Keep Malaria Out, Mosquito Nets Are Used to Haul Fish In|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/world/africa/mosquito-nets-for-malaria-spawn-new-epidemic-overfishing.html|access-date=11 October 2017|work=The New York Times|date=24 January 2015|issn=0362-4331|oclc=1645522}} To combat these problems, African Parks developed several community programs and enterprise projects, including bee-keeping, sustainable fisheries management, and reproductive health education. As a result, poaching and other illegal activities have been largely contained, and fish stocks have managed to recover.

In 2008, African Parks began managing Bangweulu with the establishment of the Bangweulu Wetland Management Board, which includes representation by African Parks, the Zambia Wildlife Authority, and six community members. Funding was secured by African Parks and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Through this partnership, African Parks is responsible for all management and operations of Bangweulu, including law enforcement, community development, biodiversity conservation, infrastructure and economic development. This public-private and community partnership is part of the Community Partnership Park concept created by the Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environment Protection and Zambia Wildlife Authority's "Reclassification and Effective Management of National Protected Areas System" project. According to UNDP, the project seeks to "improve the management of existing Protected Areas through law enforcement and to propose new protected area categories to ensure the community owns and manages the natural resources in a sustainable manner".

Past partners supporting Bangweulu Wetlands include the Bangweulu Wetlands Management Board and Kasanka Trust; current major funders supporting Bangweuu include WWF-The Netherlands, WWF-Zambia, and the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife, according to African Parks.{{cite web|title=Partners: Bangweulu|url=https://www.african-parks.org/the-parks/bangweulu/partners|publisher=African Parks|access-date=11 October 2017}} The Working for Water Project's mission is to survey and protect Africa's major wetlands, including Bangweulu, the Niger and Okavango deltas, and Sudd and Zambezi. The University of Cape Town's Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology has worked to create conservation plans for the shoebill. African Parks and Fondation Segré's "Bangweulu Wetlands Wildlife Reintroduction Project" was initiated in 2016 and seeks to "recreate an ecologically viable protected area with the capacity to become sustainable".

• Wildlife of Zambia

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite web|url=https://africageographic.com/blog/beautiful-images-of-bangweulu-wetlands/|title=Beautiful images of Bangweulu Wetlands|date=2 December 2014|website=Africa Geographic|via=African Parks}}
• {{Cite journal|pmid=28745838|title=First record of epizootic ulcerative syndrome from the Upper Congo catchment: An outbreak in the Bangweulu swamps, Zambia.|last1=Huchzermeyer|first1=C.F.|last2=Huchzermeyer|first2=K.D.A.|last3=Christison|first3=K.W.|last4=Macey|first4=B.M.|last5=Colly|first5=P.A.|last6=Hang'ombe|first6=B.M.|last7=Songe|first7=M.M.|date=26 July 2017|doi=10.1111/jfd.12680|journal=Journal of Fish Diseases|volume=41|issue=1|pages=87–94|oclc=45254341|via=National Center for Biotechnology Information|hdl=10566/3118|hdl-access=free}}

{{External media

| video1 = [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/video/river-monsters-clip-1/ Video: Zambia's Bangweulu Wetlands], National Geographic Society

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• {{Cite web|url=https://www.african-parks.org/the-parks/bangweulu|title=Bangweulu Wetlands|publisher=African Parks}}
• {{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/zambia/bangweulu-wetlands|title=Bangweulu Wetlands|publisher=Lonely Planet}}

{{African Parks}}

Category:African Parks (organisation)

Category:Nature conservation in Zambia

Category:Floodplains of Africa

Category:Lake Bangweulu

Category:Wetlands of Zambia

Category:Zambezian flooded grasslands

Category:Important Bird Areas of Zambia