1 Kafue Flats Basin countries Kafue Flats lie in the Zambezi River Basin, Zambia. The shaded area represents the Kafue Flats floodplain between the Kafue Gorge and Itezhi-tezhi Dams, not the entire river basin Summary of basin characteristics Zambia’s water and hydroelectric power poten- tial are of great importance to the national economy afue Flats are the vast, open floodplain of the and to the regional economy of southern Africa. The Kafue River, covering some 6,500km2 Kafue Gorge hydroelectric power plant, situated at Kwithin the wider basin of the Zambezi River. the eastern end of the Kafue Flats, is the country’s largest power station, providing more than 50 per cent of Zambia’s electricity needs. A surplus of Socio-economic importance 431MW is exported to neighbouring countries, such The area is important for fishing, cattle grazing, sugar- as Zimbabwe and South Africa. To keep pace with cane farming, and production of hydroelectric power. demand, the Kafue Gorge power plant has needed Managing Rivers Wisely 2 Kafue Flats more water than was available from the Kafue Gorge Biodiversity values Dam. Consequently, a second storage reservoir (the Kafue Flats support large numbers of grazing mam- Itezhi-tezhi Dam) was constructed at the western end mals, including zebra Equus burchelli, sitatunga of Kafue Flats. This allows for the release of suffi- Tragelaphus spekii and buffalo Bubalus sp, and pred- cient water to maintain maximum power generation ators such as cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and wild dog throughout the year. Lycaon pictus. The Kafue lechwe Kobus leche On the south-eastern side of Kafue Flats, near kafuensis is the region’s most famous animal and is the town of Mazabuka, there are several sugarcane endemic to the Flats; it is one of three different races farms, each of which cultivates huge areas of land. of lechwe, or marsh antelope, adapted specifically to These farms produce the majority of Zambia’s sugar living in wetlands. for local use and export. Each farm relies heavily on Construction of the Kafue Gorge and Itezhi- water from the Kafue River for irrigation, while tezhi Dams in the 1970s and the consequent regula- nutrient-rich effluent is discharged back into the tion of water flow in the Kafue River has altered flow river, contributing to the proliferation of many regimes and caused loss of periodically flooded land, aquatic plants, including the problematic water removing the habitats of many animal, bird and plant hyacinth Eichornia crassipes (see below). species. As a result, the populations of many species Traditionally, the people of Kafue Flats have that occur in the Flats have declined. The number of made a living by fishing and grazing livestock. Until Kafue lechwe has fallen by more than half, from recently, the area was sparsely populated but this is approximately 100,000 to fewer than 40,000 in 2001. changing as many people arrive in search of work, Poaching, which has been particularly severe in for example on sugarcane estates. This has promoted recent decades, is another major factor in the declines illegal hunting and overfishing. As a result, certain experienced by most mammal species. parts of the Flats are suffering from increasing More than 450 bird species occur regularly in human pressure. Kafue Flats, some throughout the year and others Water flowing from Itezhi-tezhi Dam into the Kafue River. WWF-Canon / Sarah Black Kafue Flats 3 passing through on migration. Kafue is one of the stakeholders to integrate the concept of ‘wise use’ of most important sites in Africa for wattled crane Grus wetlands, including nature conservation, into their carunculatus, ranked as Vulnerable by IUCN–The own business/livelihood activities. This is achieved World Conservation Union. through adopting an intermediary and catalytic role, creating partnerships, bringing in expertise and Priority issues for river basin developing projects on the ground. Having estab- management lished partnerships and shown a willingness to com- mit resources to projects that have both socio-eco- Since the construction of the two major dams at nomic and conservation benefits, WWF has been strategic points along the Kafue River, both upstream able to move into wider activities with a more overt and downstream of the Flats, the natural hydrological river basin management approach. system has been disrupted, with adverse impacts on In Zambia, formal partnerships have been the habitat and breeding cycles of many species. established with stakeholders that are key to achiev- Alongside the effects of poaching, this has led to a ing integrated water management for Kafue Flats. drastic reduction in the biological productivity of the These involve the sugar industry (Zambia Sugar, area. Lower fishery yields and reduced availability of Nanga and Ceres Farms), the Zambian Electricity grazing land as a result of the altered flooding regime Supply Company (ZESCO), the Ministry of Energy have also affected human communities. and Water Development (MEWD), the Zambian The invasive and exotic water hyacinth – infa- Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), Chiefdom of the Tonga mous the world over for its ability to grow extremely people (Chief Mwanachingwala) and two private quickly and clog up waterways – has been a major tourism companies (Star of Africa and Real Africa problem in the Flats over the last decade. Local peo- Safaris). ple have been finding transportation and fishing – With the sugar industry, WWF is working to using dugout canoes – increasingly difficult, while restore 50,000ha of the Kafue Flats – the Mwana- the turbines of the Kafue Gorge power plant are chingwala Conservation Area. This is being sometimes blocked with water hyacinth, disrupting achieved through a combination of measures power generation. including raising awareness among local communi- Key objectives for integrated river basin man- ties, the introduction of wise use practices, translo- agement that are reflected in different components of cation of animals, and ecotourism. WWF is also WWF’s work on Kafue Flats are: encouraging sugar farms to pre-treat their effluent through bio-filters (small artificially created wet- ■ Increasing the productivity of the wetland by lands and reedbeds) to lower nutrient levels and restoring the natural pattern of flooding through therefore reduce the growth and spread of water changes to the operating procedures of the Kafue hyacinth. The plants grown as bio-filters can also be Gorge and Itezhi-tezhi Dams used to make a modest income – for example, bas- ■ Establishment of modern water management ket-making from reeds. processes With ZESCO and MEWD, WWF is working to ■ Restoration of the original composition, popula- improve the management of water resources in the tion size and range of most of the typical wet- Flats by improving the operating procedures of the land species, in particular the Kafue lechwe. Kafue Gorge and Itezhi-tezhi Dams. The aim is to mimic natural water flows as closely as possible in A wider objective is to use Kafue Flats as a order to restore wetland functions and values. The model for restoring and managing other areas in the first phase of this partnership produced an Zambezi River basin and further afield. Integrated Water Resources Management Strategy, which has since been accepted by all stakeholders. Role of WWF and its partners Computer models were also developed to simulate potential water management scenarios and to study In general, WWF’s main goal in Kafue Flats is to their likely impacts. The second phase began in July persuade traditionally non-conservation oriented 2003 and, over nine months, will focus on imple- Managing Rivers Wisely 4 Kafue Flats Kafue Lechwe, Kafue Flats. Francois d’Elbee mentation of the new water management system for Conservation method demonstrated Kafue Flats. Re-establishment of the hydro-meteor- ological monitoring network, further refinement of The following are the principal means by which computer models, dam operation, and legal and WWF has been pursuing conservation and restora- institutional frameworks are the main components tion of the Kafue Flats: of this phase. Testing of the new dam operating pro- cedures is expected by early 2004, with the hope ■ Pursuit of ‘win-win’ scenarios – providing both that the Zambian government will take a positive socio-economic and biodiversity benefits – for decision to commence the new system during 2004. seemingly conflicting stakeholders. All key stakeholders and water users are part of this process. ■ Establishment of partnerships with key stake- The Integrated Water Resource Management holders, including traditionally non-conserva- project is part of the Kafue pilot project being imple- tion oriented sectors (e.g. electricity supply com- mented by the Ministry of Energy and Water pany, the sugar industry). Development through the Water Resources Action ■ Development of model sites (geared to concrete Programme (WRAP). WRAP is trying to develop a results on the ground) where ‘ownership’ of national strategy that will improve the management activities lies clearly with the partners, enabling of water resources (surface and groundwater) WWF to play an initial catalytic role, but with a throughout Zambia. It is hoped that this ground- strategy for phased withdrawal leaving the part- breaking project will act as an example and catalyst ners to take forward the work themselves. for sustainable water resources management in the whole region, notably the wider Zambezi River ■ Promotion of ecotourism as a means of diversify- basin. ing economic opportunities within protected areas. Kafue Flats 5 ■ Magnification – working in a sub-basin (Kafue 2001 Flats) as a potential launch pad for extending the ● WWF, a local community chief and representatives of conservation model to the whole (Zambezi) river five commercial sugar farms sign an agreement to basin. work together on establishing the 50,000ha Mwanachingwala Conservation Area. Resources devoted 2002 ● February: launch of the Kafue Flats integrated water Phase I (1998-2002): EUR410,000 was used to resources management project.