At 440 km², Tondwa is part of a vast ecosystem that stretches from Nsumbu National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika westwards to Mweru Wantipa and Lusenga Plains National Parks. It abuts the Kaputa Game Management Area and is the key to the connectivity and long-term integrity of this landscape. This is a crucial ecological corridor renowned for its unique beauty and biodiversity.
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A beautiful, intact wildscape where local, climate-resilient communities govern and benefit from sustainable conservation solutions and strengthened livelihoods. A place where wildlife moves freely and safely between Nsumbu National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and Mweru Wantipa and Lusenga Plains National Parks.
Tondwa falls under the jurisdiction of the Nsama Chiefdom and Nsama Community Resource Board (Nsama CRB). Game management areas in Zambia are managed by the DNPW (Department of National Parks and Wildlife). Chief Nsama is the paramount chief of the region. Baobab Safaris Limited, a reputable and ethical hunting outfitter, holds the lease for Tondwa for the next twelve years and conducts a very limited number of hunting safaris to Tondwa each year. Baobab Safaris Limited is responsible for payment of the annual lease fee and all license/quota fees associated with hunting.
The Tondwa area is home to a diverse community of people, including the Tabwa-speaking population and other tribes such as the Bemba and Lungu. These communities have historical ties to the landscape.They trace their origins back to the Luba–Lunda kingdom in present-day Democratic Republic of Congo. Population densities remain relatively low, with around 4,000 people living around Tondwa. The integrity of this landscape is essential for the communities living there, who face limited economic opportunities and are wholly reliant on the land for subsistence farming and fishing from Lake Tanganyika for their livelihoods.
Tondwa comprises a series of large wetlands and lakes surrounded by miombo woodland. It is bounded by a steeply rising escarpment in the south-east.
Tondwa was once famed for its large herds and stunning landscapes. However, pressure from long-term poaching and a lack of investment from prior hunting operators, led to under-resourced and under-capacitated management. Thus, there was poor or non-existent law enforcement and a failure to engage local communities. Wildlife populations have steadily declined, although residual populations of most species remain.
Tondwa remains ecologically intact but vulnerable to deforestation. The primary threats are unsustainable levels of deforestation, uncontrolled burning, and snaring for bush meat. In the absence of intervention, hardwoods will eventually be eliminated, and large mammals likely disappear due to heavy snare loads. Encroachment by settlements and agriculture is, at this stage, limited.
We didn’t know some of these resources existed. We now identify them as a way of sustaining us. We are rich in resources. Only our attitudes made us feel dependant. We are going to work hard at changing the community’s mindset to see things positively.
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