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		<title>Conservation news</title>
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		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/zambia/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 22:17:51 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>Zambia environmental news</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/zambia/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>A mine polluted a Zambian river in 2025: Residents continue to live with the impacts</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-mine-polluted-a-zambian-river-in-2025-residents-continue-to-live-with-the-impacts/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-mine-polluted-a-zambian-river-in-2025-residents-continue-to-live-with-the-impacts/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Aug 2026 16:13:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/08/13112856/b.-AP25218405123384-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=326147</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Environment, Governance, Health, Illegal Mining, Mining, Natural Resources, Pollution, Waste, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One and a half years after the collapse of a large tailings dam in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, the environmental and human impacts of the toxic spill continue to affect residents, civil society members have told Mongabay. The dam, which is used to store mining waste and is owned by Chinese copper company Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One and a half years after the collapse of a large tailings dam in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, the environmental and human impacts of the toxic spill continue to affect residents, civil society members have told Mongabay. The dam, which is used to store mining waste and is owned by Chinese copper company Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, failed on Feb. 18, 2025, in the town of Chambishi in north-central Zambia. It released millions of liters of acidic mining waste into waterways connected to the Kafue River. Stretching 1,576 kilometers (979 miles), the Kafue is the longest river lying entirely within Zambia and a lifeline for millions of people in the country. A study by researchers at Zambia’s Copperbelt University published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances in May 2026 is the first independent scientific assessment of the ecological impacts of the incident. The researchers found severely compromised water quality, high concentrations of heavy metals in water, fish, sediments and pastures, and evidence that toxic substances had entered the food chain. The larger Kafue River system provides water to around half of Zambia&#8217;s population. It feeds into the Zambezi River and sustains biodiverse wetland ecosystems including the Lukanga Swamp and the Kafue Flats. For the study, the scientists collected water samples from five sites in the affected area and one in the unaffected area as a control in the days following the accident. Their analysis of the samples showed that heavy metal concentrations, including of copper, iron, zinc, lead and arsenic, exceeded&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-mine-polluted-a-zambian-river-in-2025-residents-continue-to-live-with-the-impacts/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/a-mine-polluted-a-zambian-river-in-2025-residents-continue-to-live-with-the-impacts/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-326147</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On ivory, follow the trafficking networks and not the headlines (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-ivory-follow-the-trafficking-networks-and-not-the-headlines-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-ivory-follow-the-trafficking-networks-and-not-the-headlines-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Aug 2026 22:47:08 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mary Rice]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/25133056/image1-e1786130110289-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325640</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central Africa, Global, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Business, Charismatic Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Crime, Elephants, Environment, Governance, Illegal Trade, Ivory, Mammals, Organized Crime, Poaching, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In early March 2026, acting on intelligence shared by my organization, the Environmental Investigation Agency UK, Zambian authorities seized a consignment of more than 500 kg (over 1,100 pounds) of ivory and arrested a suspect with long-standing links to regional ivory trafficking operations. One of the suspects involved in the case was convicted in 2019 [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In early March 2026, acting on intelligence shared by my organization, the Environmental Investigation Agency UK, Zambian authorities seized a consignment of more than 500 kg (over 1,100 pounds) of ivory and arrested a suspect with long-standing links to regional ivory trafficking operations. One of the suspects involved in the case was convicted in 2019 for possession of more than 200 kg (almost 441 lbs) of ivory and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2020. He was released after a matter of months and has continued trading ivory ever since. So, Zambia, which has been exploited by criminal networks operating with relative impunity since at least 2002, is under the spotlight once again. Of particular concern is the involvement of Congolese criminal groups, which continue to operate across Zambia and the wider region, sourcing and moving wildlife products including elephant ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales and big cats along complex transnational routes toward Asia, with Vietnam often serving as a key transit hub to other destinations. Exploiting the lack of political will, weak enforcement, corrupt officials and marginalized communities to facilitate their trade, these networks have been orchestrating poaching expeditions into neighboring countries, using Zambian intermediaries to supply their illicit trade chains. This recent interception in Zambia — alongside two other large-scale seizures made in Tanzania and Botswana in April and May respectively — brings the minimum total of ivory seized globally since 2023 to approximately 29 tons, nearly 64,000 pounds. That’s the equivalent of at least 4,000&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-ivory-follow-the-trafficking-networks-and-not-the-headlines-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/on-ivory-follow-the-trafficking-networks-and-not-the-headlines-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325640</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Climate shocks hit hydropower in Southern Africa, reviving interest in coal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Jul 2026 14:19:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/31093919/The_Kariba_Dam_wall_from_the_middle-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=325029</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Science, Coal, Development, Economics, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Hydroelectric Power, Natural Resources, Research, Solar Power, and Water]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA —For years, Zambia and Zimbabwe have boasted of enviable success in harnessing hydropower. More than 80% of Zambia’s power supply and about half of neighboring Zimbabwe’s supply came from hydropower sources in 2024. But climate change has continued to expose the fragility of this dependence. Successive droughts, linked to the 2023-24 El Niño, caused water levels in Lake Kariba, formed by a dam on Zambezi River, to drop, drastically reducing electricity generation. It precipitated one of the region’s worst energy crises in decades. Against this backdrop, coal re-emerged as an attractive, although controversial, option. According to the Global Energy Monitor&#8217;s Boom and Bust Coal 2026 report, Zambia and Zimbabwe accounted for more than two-thirds of all new coal power proposals announced in Africa in 2025. Some energy experts argue that coal offers the quickest route to stabilizing electricity supplies and sustaining industrial growth, particularly for the mining sector. Electricity systems in Zimbabwe and Zambia power mining activities, industries and help meet the needs of growing urban populations. However, others warn that expanding coal-fired power risks locking both countries into decades of carbon emissions at a time when renewable energy technologies — especially solar — are becoming increasingly affordable. For Zimbabwe, however, coal has never completely disappeared from that country&#8217;s energy landscape. Power Shift Africa Campaigns Manager Kudakwashe Manjonjo said Zimbabwe&#8217;s reliance on coal is rooted in history. “Zimbabwe has always been a significant coal-producing country. I live in Hwange, home to one of the largest coal mines on the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/climate-shocks-hit-hydropower-in-southern-africa-reviving-interest-in-coal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-325029</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zambia’s bumper harvest masks likely food insecurity amid geopolitics and climate threats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jul 2026 13:12:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/03133435/5433664321_547a088000_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=322469</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Climate, Climate Change Denial, Climate Science, El Nino, Environment, Fertilizers, Finance, Food, Food Industry, Food Prices, food security, Global Environmental Crisis, Governance, Impact Of Climate Change, Natural Resources, Nature-based climate solutions, Nutrition, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, has prompted warnings that disruptions to the supply of fuel and fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz could cause food insecurity in some African countries. While experts say it will take time for the effects of the conflict to be felt in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — The escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran, has prompted warnings that disruptions to the supply of fuel and fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz could cause food insecurity in some African countries. While experts say it will take time for the effects of the conflict to be felt in Zambia, they also point to vulnerabilities in the country&#8217;s food system and suggest greater resilience to possible stresses. Zambia&#8217;s food security is generally understood to rest on a single crop: maize. Zambia Statistics Agency reports that the price of a 25-kilogram bag of breakfast mealie meal declined slightly from April to May. In fact, the price of mealie meal is 15% lower than it was this time last year. The FAO&#8217;s April 2026 country briefing for Zambia said good rains since last October point to a second consecutive year of above-average harvests of maize. The rains are also expected to support a rebound of wheat harvest, as full reservoirs mean a steady supply of hydroelectric power that will allow the crop’s growers (primarily large-scale, industrial farmers) to irrigate their fields. The briefing reported that reference prices for maize were 25% lower year-on-year in March, thanks to plentiful domestic supply and a strengthening of the currency. Maize meal prices also declined by 15%, according to the Zambia Statistics Agency. Drawing on the IPC classification, the FAO said the number of Zambians facing &#8220;crisis&#8221; levels of acute food insecurity in the six months to March 2026 was&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/zambias-bumper-harvest-masks-likely-food-insecurity-amid-geopolitics-and-climate-threats/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-322469</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>World burned less coal in 2025, but built more plants over energy uncertainty</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/world-burned-less-coal-in-2025-but-built-more-plants-over-energy-uncertainty/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/world-burned-less-coal-in-2025-but-built-more-plants-over-energy-uncertainty/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>21 May 2026 06:46:23 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ashoka Mukpo]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/20102003/24190342154_a7040c07b5_k-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319798</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Central America, East Africa, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Coal, Economics, Energy, Environment, Governance, Mining, and Politics]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Coal use across the world continued to drop in 2025, but there was an increase in the capacity to burn it, according to an annual report by data analysis group Global Energy Monitor. Overall power generation from coal declined by 0.6% last year, but the amount that was on call if needed for power grids [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Coal use across the world continued to drop in 2025, but there was an increase in the capacity to burn it, according to an annual report by data analysis group Global Energy Monitor. Overall power generation from coal declined by 0.6% last year, but the amount that was on call if needed for power grids rose by 3.5%. Most of that growth was concentrated in China, where additional coal capacity is increasingly considered a backup option to ensure energy security. While China added 78.1 gigawatts of coal power capacity in 2025, its actual use of coal power fell by 1.2%. This decline was notable as it came amid an overall rise in Chinese energy demand. According to the report, more than 90% of that increased demand was met not with coal, but with wind and solar. While China remains far and away the world’s largest user of coal, more of its energy needs are being met with renewables. India added the second-highest coal power capacity in 2025, but it also showed movement toward a cleaner grid. Along with record solar and wind power additions, renewables made up more than half of the country’s overall power capacity for the first time. Christine Shearer, lead researcher of the report on the global coal power fleet, said most of the new coal capacity added in India and China was commissioned years ago, before the market dynamics around renewables had changed. “By the time all these coal plants began operating in 2025, cheaper alternatives&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/world-burned-less-coal-in-2025-but-built-more-plants-over-energy-uncertainty/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/world-burned-less-coal-in-2025-but-built-more-plants-over-energy-uncertainty/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319798</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Electric fences help farmers and elephants coexist in Zambian borderlands</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/electric-fences-help-farmers-and-elephants-coexist-in-zambian-borderlands/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/electric-fences-help-farmers-and-elephants-coexist-in-zambian-borderlands/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 May 2026 10:46:31 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/19164707/Elephants.Loxodonta.africana_LiwondeNPMalawi_StGeorgesFlickrBYNCND2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319713</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conflict, Conservation, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Fences, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Mammals, Protected Areas, Tracking, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia — “It’s not possible [to coexist with elephants], because they are animals and we are human beings — they should have their own home,” says Esnart Banda, a Zambian farmer whose maize and tobacco fields lie 5 meters, just 16 feet, from the boundary of Malawi’s Kasungu National Park. Just two thin strands [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia — “It’s not possible [to coexist with elephants], because they are animals and we are human beings — they should have their own home,” says Esnart Banda, a Zambian farmer whose maize and tobacco fields lie 5 meters, just 16 feet, from the boundary of Malawi’s Kasungu National Park. Just two thin strands of orange, plastic-coated wire now stand between Banda’s crops and Kasungu’s elephants. The wires, known as polywire fencing and supplied by conservation group IFAW and Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), are strung taut between straight, evenly cut fence poles that Banda and her helpers erected. To the uninitiated, they hardly seem capable of stopping a herd of elephants. But Banda herself attests to their effectiveness. “It’s strong, it helps us,” she tells Mongabay. “If somebody touches it, they fall.” Farmer Harry Msimuko stands in front of wires that carry a powerful electric charge, protecting his own crops and those of 19 other households from elephants from nearby Kasungu National Park. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. On a neighboring farm, within sight of the bare granite faces of Malawi’s Miwonde Hills, Harry Msimuko shows off the “power house” in his living room: two solar-powered batteries with wiring snaking up the wall. When he flicks a switch at night, pulses of electricity run along 6 kilometers (nearly 4 miles) of fencing enclosing not only his crops but those of 19 neighbors. The only recent conflict, he says, has been with hyenas crossing from&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/electric-fences-help-farmers-and-elephants-coexist-in-zambian-borderlands/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/electric-fences-help-farmers-and-elephants-coexist-in-zambian-borderlands/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319713</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Radio and satellite alerts help Zambian farmers live with dangerous wildlife</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 18:54:24 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15184240/Elephants_IFAW_fence-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319556</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Fences, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Infrastructure, Mammals, Migration, Protected Areas, Tracking, Wildlife, Wildlife Corridors, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia – In a yellow, single-story building in the eastern Zambian town of Lundazi, a radio presenter fields numerous calls from anxious villagers on nearby farms. Sitting across from presenter Joseph Mwale in the air-conditioned studio are two officials from Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). One of them, Senior Ranger Mathews [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia – In a yellow, single-story building in the eastern Zambian town of Lundazi, a radio presenter fields numerous calls from anxious villagers on nearby farms. Sitting across from presenter Joseph Mwale in the air-conditioned studio are two officials from Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW). One of them, Senior Ranger Mathews Mumbi, tells listeners: “Avoid going out at night to avoid the ngozi (accidental harm).” Many of the villagers tuning in to the Thursday evening program live in a transfrontier conservation area (TFCA) straddling eastern Zambia and neighboring Malawi: dangerous encounters with wild animals is a way of life here. The twice-weekly radio show on Chikaya FM, a community radio station, is sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which works with the DNPW to promote human-wildlife coexistence across three Zambian farming districts – Lundazi, Lumezi and Chipangali — home to around half a million people. In theory, the TFCA links Kasungu with Zambia’s Lukusuzi and Luambe National Parks, but to reach the Zambian parks, elephants and other wild animals must cross farmland and roads and navigate past schools and homesteads. Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife&#8217;s Mwizaso Chipeta (left) and Mathews Mumbi field questions from callers about human-wildlife conflict from callers during a radio show on Chikaya FM, while IFAW’s community engagement manager Alstone Mwanza (right) listens in. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. During a break in the radio show, the station runs an advert with the sound of an elephant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/radio-and-satellite-alerts-help-zambian-farmers-live-with-dangerous-wildlife/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319556</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zambian prodigy draws on theoretical physics to improve weather prediction</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 May 2026 13:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/15120413/54351889545_65ed900e9f_b-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319504</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Climate, Climate Change, Drought, Environment, Politics, Technology, and Weather]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Prosper Chanda, 18, does not shy away from big problems. At the age of 3, he dived into algebra, and then as an adolescent he turned his attention toward advanced physics. At a time when most youth his age are dealing with late-stage teen angst, Chanda is awaiting the publication of a research paper that [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Prosper Chanda, 18, does not shy away from big problems. At the age of 3, he dived into algebra, and then as an adolescent he turned his attention toward advanced physics. At a time when most youth his age are dealing with late-stage teen angst, Chanda is awaiting the publication of a research paper that attempts to reconcile classical and quantum physics frameworks. Chanda, who hails from Kasama in Zambia’s Northern province, is also applying the conceptual frameworks of theoretical physics to the practical problem of accurate weather prediction. The model is based on what he calls Prosper’s Unified Position Equation, or PUPE. For this initiative, he was shortlisted along with four other teams from Africa for this year’s Earth Prize, which recognizes the efforts of 13-to-19-year-olds offering innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Aerial view of solar-powered drip irrigation scheme in Tauya village, Zambia. In Zambia, the majority of rural communities depend on rain-fed agriculture. However, erratic weather patterns, including drought, often lead to significant crop damage and livestock losses. Food security remains a pressing issue. Photo by Enoch Kavindele Jr/UNDP Zambia via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0). Chanda noticed the growing challenge in Zambia of not having precise weather predictions in times where the impacts of global warming are becoming increasingly devastating. &#8220;Communities are not well-informed about weather events and climate systems,” Chanda told Mongabay via voice note. “Those things tend to affect the people and the communities due to misinformation, and they are not informed fast.&#8221; Currently, most&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/zambian-teen-draws-on-theoretical-physics-to-improve-weather-prediction/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319504</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As elephants return in eastern Zambia, communities adapt to coexistence</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-elephants-return-in-eastern-zambia-communities-adapt-to-coexistence/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-elephants-return-in-eastern-zambia-communities-adapt-to-coexistence/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2026 15:39:18 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/05/13140225/Elephants_farmers_granary-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=319328</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Elephants, Endangered Species, Environment, Fences, Habitat, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Infrastructure, Mammals, Migration, Protected Areas, Tracking, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia — The very first time 23-year-old Edward Kumwenda saw elephants, it was after midnight, and they were breaking into his house. That night, two years ago, Kumwenda was sleeping alone in a small brick-and-thatch cottage at his father’s homestead in eastern Zambia’s Chipangali district, when he heard animals approaching. At first, he thought [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUNDAZI, Zambia — The very first time 23-year-old Edward Kumwenda saw elephants, it was after midnight, and they were breaking into his house. That night, two years ago, Kumwenda was sleeping alone in a small brick-and-thatch cottage at his father’s homestead in eastern Zambia’s Chipangali district, when he heard animals approaching. At first, he thought the sound of breaking twigs and rustling grass was caused by cattle, or worse, cattle thieves targeting his family’s livestock. But then the intruders began tugging at the thatch roof. The room shook, part of the brick wall collapsed, and a large trunk pushed through the hole, curling around one of the bags containing some of that year’s maize harvest and lifting it out. “They got the first bag, second bag, third bag, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,” he recalls, sitting on a stool in his family’s bare, swept yard, as the cassia trees drop yellow flowers and relatives gather to hear the story yet again. “That is enough [maize to last] for the whole year, for me,” he says. Kumwenda thought of escaping through an open window, but kept his nerve, staying silent until his sister and brother — alerted by the noise of the herd breaking in — lit a log fire in the yard and drove the animals away. Edward Kumwenda indicates where elephants broke into the house where he was sleeping two years ago and helped themselves to his family’s maize stores. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. An elephant&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-elephants-return-in-eastern-zambia-communities-adapt-to-coexistence/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/05/as-elephants-return-in-eastern-zambia-communities-adapt-to-coexistence/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-319328</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A village biogas project tests Zambia’s push to improve rural energy access</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-village-biogas-project-tests-zambias-push-to-improve-rural-energy-access/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-village-biogas-project-tests-zambias-push-to-improve-rural-energy-access/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 Apr 2026 07:44:14 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sokosi Silvester Banda]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/04/29072823/Photo-4-Nkhundwe-Plant--768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=318367</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Economics, Energy, Environment, Governance, Natural Gas, and Solar Power]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — In Nkhundye, a farming community in Zambia’s Eastern province, cattle dung from a communal kraal, a traditional livestock enclosure, is being used to produce energy for cooking, to run irrigation pumps, and to meet some electricity needs. The biogas plant is managed by the Nkhundye Community Cooperative, whose members collectively keep some [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA, Zambia — In Nkhundye, a farming community in Zambia’s Eastern province, cattle dung from a communal kraal, a traditional livestock enclosure, is being used to produce energy for cooking, to run irrigation pumps, and to meet some electricity needs. The biogas plant is managed by the Nkhundye Community Cooperative, whose members collectively keep some 300 head of cattle. The dung from the animals is fed into a biodigester that produces methane gas, which is used as a cooking fuel. As of March 2026, the project was providing biogas to 100 households. The cooperative comprises roughly 600 households and the operation is gradually being expanded to cover all members and nearby communities, according to the company Biogas Technology in Zambia, which is a partner in the project. Homes within 100 meters (330 feet) of the biogas plant receive gas through underground pipes, while those further away receive storage bags with enough methane to last three to five days, depending on use. A community member cooks using biogas in Nkhundye village in Eastern province, Zambia. Image courtesy of Biogas Technology in Zambia. Community members use the biogas for cooking through adapted biogas stoves. All the project equipment was supplied free of cost to the consumers, including fittings to install the connections. Household stoves are connected directly to gas storage bags using a valve and pipes. The process starts with mixing cow dung with water and feeding it into the sealed biodigester. Inside the biodigester, anaerobic bacteria break down the waste, producing&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-village-biogas-project-tests-zambias-push-to-improve-rural-energy-access/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/04/a-village-biogas-project-tests-zambias-push-to-improve-rural-energy-access/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318367</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa’s vulture safe zones face tough test across vast landscapes</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/africas-vulture-safe-zones-face-tough-test-across-vast-landscapes/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/africas-vulture-safe-zones-face-tough-test-across-vast-landscapes/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Feb 2026 10:39:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/02/19102209/white-backed-vulture-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=314481</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, Southern Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Birds, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Poaching, Poisoning, Predators, Raptors, Scavengers, Vultures, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Protecting vulture populations in Africa presents some unique challenges for conservationists. These slow-breeding and ecologically vital scavengers range over vast territories and are vulnerable to poisons targeting other species and expanding infrastructure like power lines. Creating “vulture safe zones” has emerged as a way to address these broad and varied threats, but putting them into [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Protecting vulture populations in Africa presents some unique challenges for conservationists. These slow-breeding and ecologically vital scavengers range over vast territories and are vulnerable to poisons targeting other species and expanding infrastructure like power lines. Creating “vulture safe zones” has emerged as a way to address these broad and varied threats, but putting them into practice is proving difficult. South Africa’s oldest vulture safe zone is centered in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, in the southern Kalahari Desert. Since the 114,000-hectare (282,000-acre) safe zone was established in 2019, on land owned by the wealthy Oppenheimer family, its managers have taken steps to protect critically endangered white-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) and endangered lappet-faced vultures (Torgos tracheliotos) nesting there. Establishing the reserve as a safe zone involved things like covering reservoirs with nets to prevent drowning, and halting the use of lead ammunition. Wendy Panaino, an ecologist at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, told Mongabay that, ultimately, the aim is to make this 120,000-hectare (296,000-acre) reserve a safe haven for threatened species like the white-backed, lappet-faced and white-headed vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis). “Tswalu was a massive success,” says Linda van der Heever, species project manager at BirdLife South Africa. “It really is, in many senses, a textbook vulture safe zone.” A vulture in Tswalu-Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. This reserve was designated as vulture safe zone in 2019. Image courtesy of Duncan MacFadyen / Tswalu-Kalahari Reserve. In the past decade, several safe zone projects of this kind have kicked off in Africa, each adopting a variety of measures&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/02/africas-vulture-safe-zones-face-tough-test-across-vast-landscapes/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-314481</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Neddy Mulimo treated ranger welfare as conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/neddy-mulimo-treated-ranger-welfare-as-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/neddy-mulimo-treated-ranger-welfare-as-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Dec 2025 07:40:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/21214417/Neddy-Mulimo-16x9-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311828</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Conservation, Environment, Obituary, Protected Areas, and Wildlife Rangers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In much of Africa, conservation is discussed in the language of landscapes and species: elephant corridors, lechwe floodplains, and the slow arithmetic of births and deaths. On the ground, it is also a labor question. The work is [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Founder&#8217;s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. In much of Africa, conservation is discussed in the language of landscapes and species: elephant corridors, lechwe floodplains, and the slow arithmetic of births and deaths. On the ground, it is also a labor question. The work is done by people who walk long hours, sleep badly, work in dangerous circumstances, and carry responsibility that is rarely matched by pay, equipment, or public notice. A ranger can spend days without clean water and still be expected to make good judgments at night, under stress, against armed men, in places where help may be hours away. That gap between what the job requires and what it is given was one of the subjects that Neddy Mulimo returned to, with a mixture of pride and impatience. “According to a recent study, the average ranger works almost 90 hours a week. Over 60% have no access to clean drinking water on patrol or at outpost stations. And what’s more, over 40% regularly go without overnight shelter,” he wrote, arguing that better welfare was not charity but strategy. Funding, he thought, should buy competence and resilience as much as boots and rifles. Mulimo, a Zambian who spent roughly four decades in conservation, began far from the romantic idea of the bush. Growing up in Lusaka’s Matero township, he once wanted to be a truck driver. A school club changed the direction of his life. Later, a trip&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/neddy-mulimo-treated-ranger-welfare-as-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311828</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Tech alone won’t stop poaching, but it’s changing how rangers work</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/tech-alone-wont-stop-poaching-but-its-changing-how-rangers-work/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/tech-alone-wont-stop-poaching-but-its-changing-how-rangers-work/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Dec 2025 00:06:15 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Daniella Garcia Almeida]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/18235740/GG_2022_0073-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=311687</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Artificial Intelligence, Biodiversity, Camera Trapping, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Environment, Green, Remote Sensing, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[As anti-poaching techniques have improved over the years, poachers have increasingly used technology to evade detection by patrols and park rangers. Now, conservationists are rising to the challenge of the resulting technological arms race with innovations of their own. Over the past few years, researchers and conservationists have worked to develop new technology to detect [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[As anti-poaching techniques have improved over the years, poachers have increasingly used technology to evade detection by patrols and park rangers. Now, conservationists are rising to the challenge of the resulting technological arms race with innovations of their own. Over the past few years, researchers and conservationists have worked to develop new technology to detect and track poaching, including mobile apps, sensors, and AI. In an effort to determine which devices, strategies, and technologies are most effective, researchers assessed a suite of new developments that have been deployed or hold promise, in a recent study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. “There&#8217;s all these tools out there to try and push back against something that is increasingly well financed, increasingly organized and difficult to combat,” said study co-author Drew Cronin, a conservation biologist at the North Carolina Zoo. Leopard sitting in a tree on the Mara North Conservancy in Kenya&#8217;s Maasai Mara. Photo Credit: Maria Meinen. The researchers found that mobile devices and apps are especially cost-effective for documenting poaching and for mapping the location of wildlife. Many useful apps have been developed, including WildScan, which contains a library of photos and descriptions of protected species that can help law enforcement and transport workers identify illegal wildlife trafficking. Acoustic sensors are already frequently deployed to non-invasively detect and monitor the presence of animals. This technology has gotten better and less expensive in recent years, making it an effective way to monitor vast areas for sounds like gunshots and chainsaws&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/tech-alone-wont-stop-poaching-but-its-changing-how-rangers-work/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-311687</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists chart a new source, and length, for Africa&#8217;s famous Zambezi River</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/scientists-chart-a-new-source-and-length-for-africas-famous-zambezi-river/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/scientists-chart-a-new-source-and-length-for-africas-famous-zambezi-river/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2025 20:26:42 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/12/03150506/Adobe-Express-file-37-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=310534</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation, Degraded Lands, Dry Forests, Ecosystems, Environment, Environmental Policy, forest degradation, Freshwater, Grasslands, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Trees, Tropics, Water, and Wetlands]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A new study suggests that the Zambezi River, Africa’s fourth-longest, is 11% longer than previously thought, with its most distant source lying in Angola, not Zambia. While the finding leaves the Zambezi as Africa’s fourth-longest river — after the Nile, the Congo and the Niger — the redefinition of its most distant source underscores Angola’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A new study suggests that the Zambezi River, Africa’s fourth-longest, is 11% longer than previously thought, with its most distant source lying in Angola, not Zambia. While the finding leaves the Zambezi as Africa’s fourth-longest river — after the Nile, the Congo and the Niger — the redefinition of its most distant source underscores Angola’s enormous contribution to sustaining the river best known for Victoria Falls. This newly identified source in Angola’s southern highlands sits 3,421 kilometers (2,126 miles) from the Zambezi’s mouth at the Indian Ocean — 342 km (213 mi) farther than its original source, a spring bubbling out of the ground in a marshy patch of woodland near the Zambian town of Mwinilunga. The source of the Lungwebungu River in Angola: Spanning a total of 1,032 km (640 miles), the river is an essential water source, contributing significantly to the flow of the upper Zambezi River. Image courtesy Rainer von Brandis /The Wilderness Project/NGOWP. The geographic definition of a river’s source is the farthest point from its mouth, and based on that criterion, the team behind the study published in the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences has identified the source of the Zambezi as a small trickle oozing from a peatland bog in southern Angola, which is also the source of a river known as the Lungwebungu. Lead author Rainer von Brandis of The Wilderness Project (TWP), a group of scientists and explorers that conducted the study, says the findings highlight the critical importance of the&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/scientists-chart-a-new-source-and-length-for-africas-famous-zambezi-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/12/scientists-chart-a-new-source-and-length-for-africas-famous-zambezi-river/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-310534</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As Zambia eyes green minerals, Kabwe’s poisoned past looms large</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Nov 2025 07:16:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Chisapi Kumbutso]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/11/18093815/Oliver-Nyirenda-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=309709</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Business, Clean Energy, Degraded Lands, Energy, Environment, Environmental Law, Governance, Human Rights, Industry, Mining, Monitoring, Pollution, and Social Justice]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA — As Zambia looks to profit from the growing global demand for copper and other transition minerals — essential for the world’s green energy future — the story of Kabwe, a mining city poisoned by the resource, stands as a warning. If the government and the companies that mine its wealth don’t break with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[LUSAKA — As Zambia looks to profit from the growing global demand for copper and other transition minerals — essential for the world’s green energy future — the story of Kabwe, a mining city poisoned by the resource, stands as a warning. If the government and the companies that mine its wealth don’t break with the patterns of the past, activists warn, any new mining booms will likely repeat the destruction of mining host communities’ health, livelihoods and environment. In June 2024, a coalition of young activists, journalists and environmental groups launched a campaign called “Zambia’s Sacrifice Zone,” aiming to explore the legacy of mining lead and copper in Kabwe and reinforce the push for accountability from government and mining companies. A partnership between a Zambian NGO, the Agents of Change Foundation, and Radio Workshop, a South Africa-based nonprofit that trains young community journalists across the continent, the campaign relied on a podcast, radio programs and listening parties. From left to right: Youth activist Oliver Nyirenda (in yellow), with his family in Kabwe. Image courtesy of Radio Workshop. Putting a face to a crisis At the center of the campaign is the story of Oliver Nyirenda. As Nyirenda was growing up in Kabwe, his mother noticed that his growth was stunted, his reactions slow. Tests confirmed severe lead poisoning. Decades of unregulated mining and smelting by the former Broken Hill mine company had contaminated the soil, air and water of this central Zambian city with dangerous levels of lead. When&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/as-zambia-eyes-green-minerals-kabwes-poisoned-past-looms-large/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-309709</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Bicolored waterberry: The overlooked tree shaping Zambia’s rivers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/bicolored-waterberry-the-overlooked-tree-shaping-zambias-rivers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/bicolored-waterberry-the-overlooked-tree-shaping-zambias-rivers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>16 Jul 2025 12:39:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/16123024/RT_Syzygium_island-2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302610</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia — At a bend in Zambia’s Kafue River, the bicolored waterberry trees resemble an avenue planted along a city boulevard. Their evergreen crowns stretch as far as the eye can see, reflected in the still, glassy water, only broken by the surfacing of two curious hippos. These trees — Syzygium guineense [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia — At a bend in Zambia’s Kafue River, the bicolored waterberry trees resemble an avenue planted along a city boulevard. Their evergreen crowns stretch as far as the eye can see, reflected in the still, glassy water, only broken by the surfacing of two curious hippos. These trees — Syzygium guineense subsp. barotsense — are a dominant feature of this stretch of river, yet their role in maintaining river ecology is only just beginning to be understood. During a recent 300-kilometer (186-mile) canoe expedition through Kafue National Park, Mongabay joined The Wilderness Project (TWP) — a group of researchers and explorers gathering data on Africa’s major rivers and their basins — to document the Kafue River’s biodiversity and human impact along its course. On one island, shortly after the river crosses the northern boundary of the park, the team encountered the fantastical, deeply fluted trunks of waterberry trees, the soil at their bases threaded with the spoor of African clawless otters (Aonyx capensis). Further downstream, dozens of white-breasted cormorants (Phalacrocorax lucidus) burst from nests wedged into branches of a small copse of waterberries growing directly in the river’s current. Bicolored waterberry roots clasping rocks in the middle of the river channel. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. The Wilderness Project team stops to conduct research on the island, surrounded by the waterberry trees’ fluted trunks. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. Known for fruits that sometimes emerge half-white, half-purple, the bicolored waterberry is one of several&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/bicolored-waterberry-the-overlooked-tree-shaping-zambias-rivers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302610</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>River of giants: Canoe team tracks hippos in one of Africa’s last strongholds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/river-of-giants-canoe-team-tracks-hippos-in-one-of-africas-last-strongholds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/river-of-giants-canoe-team-tracks-hippos-in-one-of-africas-last-strongholds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2025 15:51:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/15152623/RT_Kafue_canoes_congregate-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302532</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia — “Hippos ahead.” The warning comes from the lead canoe. Hippos are dangerous — highly territorial and fiercely protective of their young. They are capable of capsizing boats and inflicting serious injuries. The line of five canoes hugs the riverbank to avoid a group midstream, but suddenly a mother hippo (Hippopotamus [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia — “Hippos ahead.” The warning comes from the lead canoe. Hippos are dangerous — highly territorial and fiercely protective of their young. They are capable of capsizing boats and inflicting serious injuries. The line of five canoes hugs the riverbank to avoid a group midstream, but suddenly a mother hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) and her calf charge down from the bank where they’d been grazing unseen. The animals barrel toward the river and the flotilla, the mother braking at the last second. Changing course, she and her calf plunge into the water just behind the last canoe. It’s only the second close encounter of the 34-day expedition, says Mike Ross, leader of The Wilderness Project (TWP) team. “You can’t really blame them — the water is their safe place.” And this particular stretch of the Kafue River, in central Zambia, is especially so. Hippos wallowing on the sunny, muddy shallows beside the Kafue River. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. Over 82 days in 2024, Ross and a TWP team journeyed along the entire length of the Kafue, tracing its path from the river’s source near the Democratic Republic of Congo border, through the Copperbelt’s industrial zones, across the papyrus-lined dambo wetlands of the Kafue Flats and down to the steep Kafue Gorge — a topographical bottleneck that prevents some species, like African tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus), from moving upstream from the Zambezi. “An ever-changing river,” is how Ross describes the Kafue — slouching across open floodplains in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/river-of-giants-canoe-team-tracks-hippos-in-one-of-africas-last-strongholds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302532</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wildlife &#038; tourists on the up in Zambia’s Kafue Park: Q&#038;A with manager Craig Reid</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/wildlife-tourists-on-the-up-in-zambias-kafue-park-qa-with-manager-craig-reid/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/wildlife-tourists-on-the-up-in-zambias-kafue-park-qa-with-manager-craig-reid/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2025 08:58:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/15083547/KNG_elephants-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302486</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Interviews, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[African Parks, the conservation NGO, has a 20-year agreement with Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to co-manage Kafue National Park. Running through the heart of the park is the Kafue River, which is crucial for Zambia&#8217;s economy and people. But it faces threats from pollution, including a major acid spill hundreds of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[African Parks, the conservation NGO, has a 20-year agreement with Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) to co-manage Kafue National Park. Running through the heart of the park is the Kafue River, which is crucial for Zambia&#8217;s economy and people. But it faces threats from pollution, including a major acid spill hundreds of kilometers upstream near the city of Kitwe, and from overfishing outside the safety of the park. At least half of the area contained within nine Game Management Areas (GMAs) that surround the park has been occupied by small-scale farmers, driven there partly by the impact of climate change. But significant intact habitat remains, and recovering wildlife is beneficial to the communities that live around the park. Co-managed by Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife and conservation NGO African Parks, Kafue NP is home to up to 22 different species of antelopes, the highest diversity in Africa, more than 500 species of birds and at least 2,400 hippos in the river from which the park takes its name. In 2026, park authorities plan to reintroduce black rhinos (Diceros bicornis), whose population was wiped out in the 1980s. At Chunga, the headquarters of Kafue National Park, Mongabay met Craig Reid, the park manager, and spoke with him about the work AP and the DNPW are doing to safeguard this biodiversity hotspot. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. A drone shot of a section of the Kafue National Park, near its southern boundary. The park&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/wildlife-tourists-on-the-up-in-zambias-kafue-park-qa-with-manager-craig-reid/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302486</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>‘Croc on a rock’: How a group of explorers suffers for science</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/croc-on-a-rock-how-a-group-of-explorers-suffers-for-science/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/croc-on-a-rock-how-a-group-of-explorers-suffers-for-science/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2025 15:40:21 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/14152837/Ross_canoe_portage-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302403</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A crocodile flips over on the river’s surface right in front of the canoe, then disappears into the white water frothing through the narrow channel. It’s too late to stop, but fortunately the croc (Crocodylus niloticus) is just as alarmed by the intruders as they are by it, and the canoe passes quickly over the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A crocodile flips over on the river’s surface right in front of the canoe, then disappears into the white water frothing through the narrow channel. It’s too late to stop, but fortunately the croc (Crocodylus niloticus) is just as alarmed by the intruders as they are by it, and the canoe passes quickly over the spot, alighting safely alongside some rocks. The Kafue River, in central Zambia, is impassable at this point. “There’s quite a big drop here that we have to do somewhere,” says Mike Ross, the expedition leader. The rapids are flanked by conglomerate rocks: small pebbles cemented together, some of them bleached pink as a hippo’s belly by the sun and water. To the uninitiated, carrying the canoes over this large, uneven jumble of boulders doesn’t look remotely possible. Boat captain Mfundisi Nowake and research assistant Katongo Kampamba carry a canoe across boulders at Mayukuyuku rapids. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. The maneuver, known as portage, is nothing new to Ross. Earlier this year, on an expedition down Angola’s Cubango River, he and colleagues from The Wilderness Project (TWP) had to carry their gear and canoes over 26 rapids. This current expedition began its journey at the source of Zambia’s Lunga River, one of the Kafue’s major tributaries, more than 600 kilometers (373 miles) to the north, and the team has already been on the water for a month. Weary but well-drilled, they get ready to lift the five boats out of the water. At these&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/croc-on-a-rock-how-a-group-of-explorers-suffers-for-science/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302403</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>A success story at Zambia’s leopard hotspot: Interview with ecologist Chisomo M’hango</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/a-success-story-at-zambias-leopard-hotspot-interview-with-ecologist-chisomo-mhango/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/a-success-story-at-zambias-leopard-hotspot-interview-with-ecologist-chisomo-mhango/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2025 11:39:32 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/11103724/Chisomo_QNA_leopard-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302244</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Interviews, Leopards, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Chisomo M’hango is a trainee field ecologist at Musekese Conservation (MC), a nonprofit whose research station is located deep inside the Musekese-Lumbeya section of Zambia’s Kafue National Park. M’hango and her colleagues have captured images of 95 individual leopards — or 9 leopards per 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles) in some parts of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Chisomo M’hango is a trainee field ecologist at Musekese Conservation (MC), a nonprofit whose research station is located deep inside the Musekese-Lumbeya section of Zambia’s Kafue National Park. M’hango and her colleagues have captured images of 95 individual leopards — or 9 leopards per 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles) in some parts of the study area. It represents one of the highest densities of this vulnerable species in Southern Africa. Leopards aren’t the only carnivores studied by staff members like M’hango. Musekese-Lumbeya is home to four other charismatic carnivores — spotted hyenas, African wild dogs, lions and cheetahs. Camera trap surveys, monitoring of individual animals, and citizen science projects that M’hango and MC are helping to run in collaboration with other research partners are providing promising signs on the recovery of leopards, wild dogs and lions. Mongabay spoke to M’hango at MC’s research center on the banks of the Kafue River in late May 2025. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Chisomo M’hango conducting fieldwork in the Musekese Lumbeya section of Kafue National Park. Image courtesy of Musekese Conservation. Mongabay: I understand that this area of Kafue National Park is an important leopard stronghold. Why is that? Chisomo M’hango: We have an ongoing project looking into this. We started our camera trapping efforts in 2022 to establish baseline estimates of leopard populations. We are now at a stage where we have enough data to be able to start looking into what variables are creating such an&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/a-success-story-at-zambias-leopard-hotspot-interview-with-ecologist-chisomo-mhango/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302244</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>From cattle to crayfish, human pressures mount on Zambia’s Kafue River</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/from-cattle-to-crayfish-human-pressures-mount-on-zambias-kafue-river/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/from-cattle-to-crayfish-human-pressures-mount-on-zambias-kafue-river/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Jul 2025 14:51:09 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/11143322/RT_Kafue_canoes_woodland-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302279</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE, Zambia — “Three cattle on the left, 20 elephants on the right,” shouts the expedition leader from the bow seat of the first of five canoes snaking along a stretch of the Kafue River in central Zambia. The cattle are grazing near one of the many small farms and settlements that dot the river’s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE, Zambia — “Three cattle on the left, 20 elephants on the right,” shouts the expedition leader from the bow seat of the first of five canoes snaking along a stretch of the Kafue River in central Zambia. The cattle are grazing near one of the many small farms and settlements that dot the river’s southern bank. On the northern bank lies the Lunga-Luswishi Game Management Area (GMA). Originally designated as buffer zones between populated areas and Kafue National Park, at least half of the area within the nine GMAs has now been settled and converted to farmland and homesteads, according to park officials. At the front of the lead canoe sits expedition leader and biologist Mike Ross, binoculars around his neck. He calls out observations, which are recorded by fellow scientists Lauren Searle and Katongo Kampamba, who briefly lower their paddles to log the data while their respective boat captains, brothers Vincent and Earnest Ifunga, continue to steer and propel the second and third canoes downstream. The team records fishing camps, nets and traps along the banks; farming activity and people traveling on foot or bicycle; boats, water pumps, buildings, invasive plants — and wildlife: mammals, reptiles and birds. Grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) gather at the edge of an island in the middle of the river. Waterbirds, and others like white-fronted bee-eaters that need steep river banks in which to build their nesting colonies, are a key component of the data the team collects to measure the ecological&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/from-cattle-to-crayfish-human-pressures-mount-on-zambias-kafue-river/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/from-cattle-to-crayfish-human-pressures-mount-on-zambias-kafue-river/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302279</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Mining spill highlights need to protect Zambia’s vital Kafue River &#038; its fish</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mining-spill-highlights-need-to-protect-zambias-vital-kafue-river-its-fish/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mining-spill-highlights-need-to-protect-zambias-vital-kafue-river-its-fish/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Jul 2025 12:04:56 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/07/09134254/KNG_fish_net_placement-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=302103</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Kafue River Transect]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Degraded Lands, DNA, Ecosystems, Environment, Freshwater, Governance, Monitoring, Research, Rivers, Tropics, Wetlands, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
											<grant>
							<![CDATA[-14.485383519365906, 26.580594798057326]]>
						</grant>
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia – Biologist Mike Ross, balanced in a canoe beneath a star-filled sky in central Zambia, slaps the water with a net attached to a wooden pole and draws it toward him. In the net are several small silver fish. At dawn the next morning, as three snowy white cattle egrets (Bubulcus [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KAFUE NATIONAL PARK, Zambia – Biologist Mike Ross, balanced in a canoe beneath a star-filled sky in central Zambia, slaps the water with a net attached to a wooden pole and draws it toward him. In the net are several small silver fish. At dawn the next morning, as three snowy white cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) glide through the mist hanging low over the Kafue River, Ross and fellow scientists Lauren Searle and Katongo Kampamba identify the catch: among them, a banded tilapia (Tilapia sparrmanii), an orangefin minnow (Enteromius eutaenia) and a silver robber (Micralestes acutidens). All three are native to the Kafue — Zambia’s longest river — and documenting them contributes to a growing database of the river’s biodiversity, now under increasing threat. In February, a dam holding acidic mine waste near Kitwe, hundreds of kilometers upstream from the where the trio of scientists now work near Kafue National Park, failed. It released more than 50 million liters (13.2 million gallons) of acidic, heavy metal-laden sludge into a Kafue tributary. As the toxic plume moved downstream, it left at least one hippo dead, as well as numerous crocodiles, fish and monitor lizards. Zambia Air Force helicopters dumped lime into the river near the spill and upstream of the park in an effort to neutralize the acid. Biologist Katongo Kampamba identifies a fish caught at one of the team’s campsites along the Kafue river, while TWP’s Kyle Gordon removes a clipping from one of the fish’s fins for DNA analysis.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mining-spill-highlights-need-to-protect-zambias-vital-kafue-river-its-fish/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/07/mining-spill-highlights-need-to-protect-zambias-vital-kafue-river-its-fish/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-302103</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Defending the hidden forest gems of Zambia&#8217;s Copperbelt Province</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/defending-the-hidden-forest-gems-of-zambias-copperbelt-province/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/defending-the-hidden-forest-gems-of-zambias-copperbelt-province/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2024 20:25:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/10/04063525/Imanda-forest-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=289453</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, charcoal, Conservation, Deforestation, Degraded Lands, Dry Forests, Ecosystems, Environment, Forest Products, Forests, Landscape Restoration, Protected Areas, Reforestation, Restoration, Sustainable Forest Management, Trees, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[MPONGWE, Zambia – The Chimfuneme swamp forest in central Zambia’s Copperbelt province got its name — which means “hiding place” in the local language, Lamba — long ago when strife tore apart rival clans and those living near this impenetrable natural fortress hid inside it to escape invaders. These days, the invaders come armed with [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[MPONGWE, Zambia – The Chimfuneme swamp forest in central Zambia’s Copperbelt province got its name — which means “hiding place” in the local language, Lamba — long ago when strife tore apart rival clans and those living near this impenetrable natural fortress hid inside it to escape invaders. These days, the invaders come armed with chainsaws, not spears, and their target is the forest itself. But the local community has a new defense: honorary forest rangers armed with smartphones. “If they [illegal loggers] are here with a truck, we take the number plate, even capture a picture of their truck, which we send to the office,” says one of the rangers, 21-year-old Rhodah Kabunda. “They will not go anywhere, they [Forestry Department officials] will catch them.” WeForest extension officer Jackson Mkandawire shows honorary forest rangers a map on his phone that delineates boundaries around the Imanda forest, within which no commercial timber harvesting is permitted. Image by Ryan Truscott for Mongabay. Recently, she and her fellow rangers, whose full title is honorary community forest rangers confronted a group trying to cut and remove logs in one of the mushitus, as the swamp forests are known locally. They forwarded pictures of the loggers’ vehicle plate number to the local office of the Forestry Department in Mpongwe, 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) away. The vehicle was impounded and the case is now before the courts. “Right now I think it [the truck] is at the police station,” Kabunda says. The vehicles used in&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/defending-the-hidden-forest-gems-of-zambias-copperbelt-province/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/defending-the-hidden-forest-gems-of-zambias-copperbelt-province/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-289453</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Jumbo collaring effort reveals key elephant movement corridors</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/jumbo-collaring-effort-reveals-key-elephant-movement-corridors/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/jumbo-collaring-effort-reveals-key-elephant-movement-corridors/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>25 Sep 2024 12:23:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhishyant Kidangoor]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhishyantkidangoor]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/09/25121712/elephant-herd-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=287840</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Southern Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Conservation Technology, Elephants, Environment, GPS, Research, Technology, Tracking, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The first time Robin Naidoo mapped GPS data points to track elephant movement in Southern Africa, he was in for a surprise. Across the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), one of the largest conservation areas in the world, he observed movement patterns and trends never seen before. “It was like a parallel universe that had [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The first time Robin Naidoo mapped GPS data points to track elephant movement in Southern Africa, he was in for a surprise. Across the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), one of the largest conservation areas in the world, he observed movement patterns and trends never seen before. “It was like a parallel universe that had opened up,” Naidoo, lead scientist of wildlife conservation at the World Wildlife Fund, told Mongabay in a video interview. Unlocking that universe took a mammoth collaboration that involved collaring 300 African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in an area that spans five countries and is home to the largest population of African elephants in the world. The final result is possibly one of the largest databases of GPS-collared elephants. It contains close to 4 million data points that depict elephant movements and identify key connectivity areas and corridors for conservation purposes. A study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology documented how teams from WWF along with nonprofit organizations such as Ecoexist and Elephant Connection, among others, collaborated on the project, which used data collected over the past 15 years to examine connectivity for elephants. Based on the elephants’ movements, the team assessed landscape connectivity at three scales: a zoomed-in micro perspective, between protected areas as well as across the wider landscape. According to the study, each of these scales represented “a movement process whose maintenance is critical to effectively conserve elephants across the entire landscape.” African elephants, the largest land animals on Earth, are an endangered&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/jumbo-collaring-effort-reveals-key-elephant-movement-corridors/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/jumbo-collaring-effort-reveals-key-elephant-movement-corridors/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-287840</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Meet the Miombo, the largest forest you’ve never heard of</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/meet-the-miombo-the-largest-forest-youve-never-heard-of/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/meet-the-miombo-the-largest-forest-youve-never-heard-of/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Sep 2024 16:20:07 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/29092238/Thatch2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286629</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, Democratic Republic Of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Deforestation, Dry Forests, Environment, food security, Forest Products, Forests, Sustainable Forest Management, Trees, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Growing up in the village of Domboshava in central Zimbabwe, Edwin Tambara, the African Wildlife Foundation’s director of global leadership, recalls how the surrounding Miombo woodland was a pharmacy, hardware store and supermarket, all rolled into one. “You get a cough or sneeze or you have a headache, I remember my grandmother would just say, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Growing up in the village of Domboshava in central Zimbabwe, Edwin Tambara, the African Wildlife Foundation’s director of global leadership, recalls how the surrounding Miombo woodland was a pharmacy, hardware store and supermarket, all rolled into one. “You get a cough or sneeze or you have a headache, I remember my grandmother would just say, ‘OK, let me go into the forest,’ and she&#8217;ll come back with some leaves. . . It&#8217;s either they&#8217;re boiled and you have to sniff them or something — and you&#8217;d be sorted,” Tambara says. The Miombo woodlands are a special type of semi-deciduous forest, dominated by trees in the legume family from the genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia. The ecoregion covers a broad swath across Central and Southern Africa, making it the most extensive dry tropical forest type in the world. But the woodlands are shrinking, which is bad news for communities in the region who depend on them for an astounding array of goods. Miombo woodlands in the Niassa Special Reserve in Mozambique, one of Africa’s largest protected areas. The miombo woodlands are dominated by trees in the legume family from the genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia, and interspersed with a mosaic of habitats including rocky outcrops and seasonally flooded grassy areas called dambos. Image by Natalie Ingle, courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Thatching grass collected in the miombo woodlands. Thatching grass is used to roof homes, woven into fences and for other purposes, and is one of the numerous non-timber forest&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/meet-the-miombo-the-largest-forest-youve-never-heard-of/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/09/meet-the-miombo-the-largest-forest-youve-never-heard-of/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286629</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>As southern African freshwater fish &#038; fisheries struggle, collaboration is key (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-southern-african-freshwater-fish-fisheries-struggle-collaboration-is-key-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-southern-african-freshwater-fish-fisheries-struggle-collaboration-is-key-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Aug 2024 18:59:33 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Gail Thomson]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/08/22171826/Photo-3_Marcus-Westberg-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=286450</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Southern Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Ecosystems, Environment, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Food, food security, Freshwater, Freshwater Fish, Governance, Overfishing, Solutions, Traditional Knowledge, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Scientists, communities and government officials from five African countries agree that the freshwater fish stocks in the Kavango and Zambezi River systems are in severe trouble. Delegates representing all three of these stakeholder groups came together in Windhoek, Namibia in July 2024 to share their knowledge and find ways to address this urgent situation. The [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Scientists, communities and government officials from five African countries agree that the freshwater fish stocks in the Kavango and Zambezi River systems are in severe trouble. Delegates representing all three of these stakeholder groups came together in Windhoek, Namibia in July 2024 to share their knowledge and find ways to address this urgent situation. The Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) derives its name from two mighty rivers that flow through the five countries that are part of KAZA: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. While this massive conservation area – spanning over half a million square kilometers – is best known for its huge elephant population and other charismatic wildlife on land, the rivers are its lifeblood. The Kavango River starts in the upper highlands of Angola (where it is known as the Cubango) and flows into the world-famous Okavango Delta in Botswana. Along the way, it forms part of the Namibia-Angola border and crosses Namibia at one of its narrowest points. The Zambezi River starts in Zambia, flows through Angola before re-entering Zambia, touches Namibia’s eastern tip and plunges over Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya), forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe until it enters Mozambique. The Okavango River. Photo courtesy of Marcus Westberg. The Okavango Delta and Victoria Falls are two of the top tourist attractions in the region, and “Rivers of Life” is the aptly chosen brand for tourism in KAZA. Nonetheless, tourism wasn’t the main reason why community representatives, scientists and government officials from the KAZA countries&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/08/as-southern-african-freshwater-fish-fisheries-struggle-collaboration-is-key-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-286450</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Africa’s great ape sanctuaries are feeling the heat from climate change</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/africas-great-ape-sanctuaries-are-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/africas-great-ape-sanctuaries-are-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>05 Jul 2024 22:07:30 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tina Deines]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Isabel Esterman]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/11/17105358/chimp-by-Ray-in-Manila-flickr-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=284106</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Great Apes]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Democratic Republic Of Congo, East Africa, Kenya, Southern Africa, Uganda, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Apes, Biodiversity, Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Climate Change, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Ex-situ Conservation, Great Apes, Impact Of Climate Change, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In April 2024, above-average rainfall caused Kenya’s Ewaso Nyiro River to burst its banks, flooding the area and wreaking havoc for residents, including more than two dozen rescued chimpanzees at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Recent research predicts that in the next three decades Africa’s apes will be increasingly affected by climate change, facing more extreme events [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In April 2024, above-average rainfall caused Kenya’s Ewaso Nyiro River to burst its banks, flooding the area and wreaking havoc for residents, including more than two dozen rescued chimpanzees at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Recent research predicts that in the next three decades Africa’s apes will be increasingly affected by climate change, facing more extreme events like wildfires, floods and heat waves. However, it’s not just wild apes that are at risk when it comes to a warming world: great ape sanctuaries across the continent are feeling the heat too. “Climate change has had a huge impact on the sanctuaries,” says Kaitlyn Bock, head of programs for the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), a coalition of wildlife sanctuaries and centers across the continent. “All the markers of climate change have been affecting them and their operations. Everything from increased rainfall to exacerbated periods of drought.” Bock says these changes seem to be happening rapidly across PASA’s 23 member organizations, which care for gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and other primates. “I think climate change is something that happens over time, you know, we&#8217;re seeing this happen gradually over many years … but for the sanctuaries, it doesn&#8217;t feel very gradual.” Tourist facilities at Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary flooded as water levels in Lake Victoria, which surrounds the facility, reached unprecedented levels. Image Courtesy of Chimpanzee Sanctuary &amp; Wildlife Conservation Trust in Uganda. From extreme flooding to droughts While climate change is affecting ape sanctuaries across the continent, it manifests in different ways. For&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/africas-great-ape-sanctuaries-are-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/africas-great-ape-sanctuaries-are-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-284106</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protected areas benefit nature &#038; people, study says — with caveats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protected-areas-benefit-nature-people-study-says-with-caveats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protected-areas-benefit-nature-people-study-says-with-caveats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Jul 2024 08:38:55 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Malavika Vyawahare]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Karen Coates]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/07/01101252/Traditional-huts-rira-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283910</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Burkina Faso, East Africa, Ethiopia, Madagascar, South Sudan, West Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Politics, Protected Areas, Rainforest Destruction, Rainforests, Threats To Rainforests, and Tropical Forests]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A global campaign to expand protected areas is underway, triggered by the adoption of the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity pact in 2022. Described by backers as a “landmark deal for biodiversity and people,” the deal calls for conserving at least 30% of the planet’s land and water. This has injected an urgency into the task [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[A global campaign to expand protected areas is underway, triggered by the adoption of the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity pact in 2022. Described by backers as a “landmark deal for biodiversity and people,” the deal calls for conserving at least 30% of the planet’s land and water. This has injected an urgency into the task of assessing the global experience with existing protected areas (PAs) with an eye on biodiversity preservation and human welfare. A new paper in the journal Current Biology attempts to track how PAs fare on both fronts. “Protected areas, on average, do not have a negative impact on local economic growth,” said Binbin Li, first author of the new study. Li is an environmental scientist at Duke Kunshan University in China. Children in Rira village within the Bale mountain National park enjoy their day in natural environment. Study says Protected areas, in general, do not have a negative impact on local economic growth. Image by Solomon Yimer for Mongabay It is a finding that is sure to attract the attention of environmentalists, conservation practitioners and the wider conservation world. However, experts say this must be interpreted with abundant caution and not viewed as a blanket endorsement of PAs. Setting aside areas like national parks and wildlife reserves is one of the most widely used conservation strategies by national governments and a keystone of the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. However, national priorities don’t always reflect the will or needs of the local populations most impacted by creating these&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/protected-areas-benefit-nature-people-study-says-with-caveats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283910</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Zambian forest reserve rebounds with a little assistance</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/zambian-forest-reserve-rebounds-with-a-little-assistance/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/zambian-forest-reserve-rebounds-with-a-little-assistance/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>20 Jun 2024 09:49:12 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ryan Truscott]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global forests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/13093035/BirdSurvey_KataninoForestReserveZambia_WeForest-Pic_6_Kat-MEDIUM-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=283190</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, Tropics, and Zambia]]>
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											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Biodiversity, charcoal, Conservation, Degraded Lands, Ecosystems, Environment, Forestry, Forests, Landscape Restoration, Logging, Mapping, Protected Areas, Reforestation, Research, Restoration, Sustainable Forest Management, Timber, and Tropical Forests]]>
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											<description>
							<![CDATA[In 2019, there were around 100 families living in the Katanino Forest Reserve, cutting down trees to produce charcoal in mud-covered kilns, and selling the fuel by the bag on a nearby road leading to major cities in Zambia’s Copperbelt province. That same year, conservation group WeForest began working with the Zambian Forestry Department and [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[In 2019, there were around 100 families living in the Katanino Forest Reserve, cutting down trees to produce charcoal in mud-covered kilns, and selling the fuel by the bag on a nearby road leading to major cities in Zambia’s Copperbelt province. That same year, conservation group WeForest began working with the Zambian Forestry Department and members of the local community to restore the reserve. Four years on, hundreds of hectares of degraded forest have grown back from severed stumps. Morton Shanzi, manager of the Katanino Forest Landscape Restoration Project, told Mongabay that before the restoration work, community members and Forestry Department officials had observed a steep decline in animal populations in the reserve. But as the project takes hold, there have been increased sightings of birds, reptiles and mammals. &#8220;Our law enforcement records show that the number of chance encounters with animals in the forest reserve has increased between 2021 and 2023,&#8221; he said. Notable species that have reappeared include near-threatened African crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and vulnerable gaboon vipers (Bitis gabonica), as well as various species of small antelope and even carnivores like side-striped jackals (Canis adustus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Wildlife is returning to parts of the Katanino reserve, but species like these southern ground hornbills will only find suitable habitat here again as the reserve&#8217;s trees mature. Image by Brendan Herbert via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) Intact miombo forest within Katanino. The forest type includes a wide range of deciduous trees. Image © WeForest. Nearly half&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/zambian-forest-reserve-rebounds-with-a-little-assistance/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-283190</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Analysis of largest elephant surveys ever shows stable population, but disturbing trends</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/analysis-of-largest-elephant-surveys-ever-shows-stable-population-but-disturbing-trends/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/analysis-of-largest-elephant-surveys-ever-shows-stable-population-but-disturbing-trends/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Apr 2024 10:26:58 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jim Tan]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/04/08192723/2Elephants_MoremiNPBotswana_serena_tangFlickrBYNCND2.0-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=280753</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Southern Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Charismatic Animals, Conservation, Elephants, Environment, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Migration, Research, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Ten years ago, says Mike Chase, the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area was one fluid contiguous elephant habitat. “An elephant could be in Botswana in the morning, midday in Zimbabwe and in the evening cross over into Zambia or Namibia,” Chase, founder of the conservation NGO Elephants Without Borders, tells Mongabay. “It appears that that [&#8230;]]]>
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							<![CDATA[Ten years ago, says Mike Chase, the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area was one fluid contiguous elephant habitat. “An elephant could be in Botswana in the morning, midday in Zimbabwe and in the evening cross over into Zambia or Namibia,” Chase, founder of the conservation NGO Elephants Without Borders, tells Mongabay. “It appears that that vision of an interconnected landscape is now being compromised.” The 520,000-square-kilometer (201,000-square-mile) area known as the KAZA stretches across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was established in 2006 with a vision of the region’s megafauna roaming free, unencumbered by the constraints of political borders. More than half the world’s savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) live in this transfrontier area. Chase’s EWB, based in Botswana, has just published an analysis comparing the two largest-ever aerial elephant surveys ever completed: the Great Elephant Census, a pan-African survey led by Chase spanning 18 countries and conducted in 2014 and 2015; and the 2022 KAZA Elephant Survey commissioned by the KAZA Secretariat, covering the five countries of the transfrontier conservation area with additional data from a 2018 EWB survey in Botswana. Elephants in the Okavango Delta. Image by Michael Levine-Clark via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Aerial shot of a river in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. Image by Mark W Atkinson/WCS via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0) “It is critical to have up-to-date information on the size and status of elephant populations to understand the status of the species,” says George Wittemyer, a professor at Colorado State University&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/analysis-of-largest-elephant-surveys-ever-shows-stable-population-but-disturbing-trends/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-280753</doi>				</item>
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					<title>Global conference to accelerate nature-based solutions: Q&#038;A with Self Help Africa&#8217;s Patricia Wall</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/global-conference-to-accelerate-nature-based-solutions-interview-with-self-help-africas-patricia-wall/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/global-conference-to-accelerate-nature-based-solutions-interview-with-self-help-africas-patricia-wall/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Mar 2024 15:58:45 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ruth Kamnitzer]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[africa]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/11102728/Agroforestry-zambia-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=279696</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Global, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Adaptation To Climate Change, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Offsets, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Climate Science, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Environment, Governance, Interviews, Interviews with conservation players, Nature-based climate solutions, Politics, Social Justice, and Solutions]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[This week, more than 150 conservation and community organizations, experts and policymakers are gathering in Zambia for the Accelerating Nature-based Solutions conference. Billed as the largest land restoration programming conference in the world, it is hosted by the Global EverGreening Alliance, the government of Zambia, and partners, and is taking place from March 11-15. Mongabay [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[This week, more than 150 conservation and community organizations, experts and policymakers are gathering in Zambia for the Accelerating Nature-based Solutions conference. Billed as the largest land restoration programming conference in the world, it is hosted by the Global EverGreening Alliance, the government of Zambia, and partners, and is taking place from March 11-15. Mongabay corresponded via email with Patricia Wall, program operations lead with Self Help Africa and a member of the Global EverGreening Alliance’s strategic advisory committee, to learn more about the conference and the work that Self Help Africa (SHA) is doing. Her answers have been edited for length and style. Mongabay: What is the goal of the conference? Why is it needed now? Patricia Wall: The conference is going to be a space for dialogue and shared learning and is structured to include as wide a group of stakeholders as possible. The current list of organizations attending is on the website and the events on each day are now being posted. The opening plenary on day one will set the scene, following days will include deep dives into critical issues and concerns and, by the end of the week, we will regroup to adopt key messages from the conference. It is urgently needed as no one organization or institution can solve the impact of the climate crisis. An agroforestry nursery in Ethiopia. Wall says that community-managed agroforestry programs have been successful in a variety of locations. Image by Trees ForTheFuture via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). Mongabay: In what&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/03/global-conference-to-accelerate-nature-based-solutions-interview-with-self-help-africas-patricia-wall/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-279696</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Count, connect, conserve: Southern Africa elephant survey points the way (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/count-connect-conserve-southern-africa-elephant-survey-points-the-way-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/count-connect-conserve-southern-africa-elephant-survey-points-the-way-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jan 2024 20:32:35 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Lisa SteelMichael KnightRobin NaidooRussell TaylorSteven A. Osofsky]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/01/03181512/Image_1_KAZA-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=277336</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Southern Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Charismatic Animals, Commentary, Conservation, Elephants, Environment, Fences, Habitat, Habitat Loss, Human-wildlife Conflict, Mammals, Migration, Research, Wildlife, and Wildlife Corridors]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In the more than 10 years since Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe signed a 2011 treaty to create the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area – the world’s largest transboundary terrestrial conservation area – much has been accomplished. Much also remains to be done. The 2022 KAZA Elephant Survey was a remarkable achievement. It [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[In the more than 10 years since Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe signed a 2011 treaty to create the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area – the world’s largest transboundary terrestrial conservation area – much has been accomplished. Much also remains to be done. The 2022 KAZA Elephant Survey was a remarkable achievement. It was the first time that Africa’s largest savanna elephant population was surveyed in a fully coordinated and synchronized manner, setting a new benchmark for aerial surveys for which the KAZA Secretariat and partner states deserve much praise; this was truly a major milestone in collaborative management of a globally unique wildlife resource. A typical double veterinary cordon fence in the region. Photo courtesy of M. Atkinson / Animal and Human Health for the Environment and Development (AHEAD) program at Cornell University. KAZA’s elephant population was estimated to be 227,900 (±95% CL 16,743), representing the majority of what’s left of Africa’s elephants. The survey also noted relatively high carcass ratios suggestive of elevated mortality, warranting further investigation as a potential warning sign for the health and stability of this globally important elephant population. Quantifying a wildlife population like this (and understanding its distribution in both space and time) is necessary to inform its management. But counting does not automatically lead to positive conservation outcomes. Many refer to KAZA’s elephants as a metapopulation, as one contiguous group of animals. But that characterization is increasingly misleading, as visible habitat fragmentation continues to take its toll. The habitat corridors&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/count-connect-conserve-southern-africa-elephant-survey-points-the-way-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-277336</doi>				</item>
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