Liuwa Plain National Park - Celebrating 20 Years of Coexistence

Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia has one of the longest conservation histories in Africa, dating back to the 19th century when the King of Barotseland, Lubosi Lewanika, appointed his people as custodians of the landscape. Over the past 20 years, the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE), DNPW and African Parks have partnered to conserve Liuwa and ensure its legacy restored. Today the landscape is a wildlife stronghold as depleted animal populations have been returned; sustainable socio-economic initiatives are improving the lives of thousands of people; and solutions are being found to reduce human wildlife conflict, making it possible for the people and wildlife of Liuwa to coexist in a thriving landscape as a sense of custodianship is being renewed. “What is (most) important,” says Induna Mundandwe, “is the communities themselves, believing that the wildlife that they live with, is theirs.”