bushmeat poaching - indiscriminate killingAlong the entire length of the Muchinga escarpment, poaching is the most common illegal activity reported by the zambia national parks wildlife scouts and rangers.  The range drops down into one of Africas greatest wildlife repositories protected in the guise of the North and South Luangwa National Park as well as various community hunting zones known as GMA's. Despite this protection however it has long been seen as the hub of various poaching gangs and groups operating primarily from the main east and north access roads of the country. 

The often treacherous and steep terrain does not allow easy movement for anti-poaching patrols and the endless secret valleys and gullys offer easy cover for seasoned poachers. In the wet season wildlife moves from the valley floor into the hills and the upper reaches of the escarpment in search of better grazing and offer an easy target for poachers lying in wait.

Poaching tends to be divided quite clearly between that for "bushmeat" and those that seek greater rewards in the form of Ivory and body parts. However over the past decade these have been merging into a wholesale slaughter of anything and everything which can be sold to both local Zambians as well as a large population of foreign nationals from China and the far east.

mighty Muchinga escarpment - Luangwa valley, ZambiaHaving dedicated close on 30% of its total land area in the form of National Parks and Protected Areas and reserves (PA's), Zambia's wildlife estate was once the most promising in all of Africa.

The situation today is marked by declining wildlife numbers through poaching, ineffective wildlife law enforcement, human encroachment, deforestation and bad governance in most National Parks and PA's.

In short, those Parks and PA's areas that do not have external funding and management are in decline and set to continue down this road unless MAJOR policy reforms are implemented. Regardless of the intentions of the Zambia Wildlife Authority or Government to change policy which will encourage private sector involvement in the Wildlife estate (suggested as far back as 2006), the situation on the ground for the animals and habitat is not getting better.