Liuwa Plain

Liuwa Plain National Park was established in 1972 at the western tip of Zambia, next to the Angolan border, and protects some 3,660 km². Its history of protection is far older: the area was declared a hunting ground by the Lozi king at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the Lozi community has maintained a direct relationship with the territory ever since.

The landscape is an immense alluvial plain that floods seasonally with the rains, dotted with lagoons, palm groves and termite mounds, with hardly any relief or tree cover. That cycle of flooding and drying supports a migration of blue wildebeest numbering tens of thousands of animals, regarded as the second largest wildebeest migration in Africa after that of the Serengeti, as well as zebra, antelope and an abundant waterbird fauna including wattled cranes.

The park was on the brink of collapse after decades of poaching: in the 1990s a single lioness remained, known as Lady Liuwa, who lived for years without a pride and became internationally famous. Since 2003 management has been in the hands of African Parks in partnership with the Department of National Parks and the Barotse Royal Establishment, and lions, hyenas and other species have been reintroduced. It is one of the most cited examples of the recovery of an African park through delegated management with community participation.