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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What began as a distressed and neglected landscape has, through the dedication and professionalism of our management team and partners, developed over the past four years into an emerging conservation success story. Today, Tondwa is marked by recovering wildlife populations, strong stakeholder relationships, and robust management structures that provide a solid foundation for the future. These achievements are a testament to what can be accomplished through genuine collaboration, in this case with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and the Nsama Community Resources Board (NCRB).
They also attracted the interest of a high-net-worth individual who wishes to invest significantly in Tondwa’s long-term future. This involvement represents a major opportunity: it will bring a substantial and sustained influx of funding into the landscape over the long term, creating lasting benefits for both conservation and Tondwa’s constituent communities. Against that backdrop, we have taken what we believe is a mature and thoughtful decision. Rather than holding tightly to a project out of institutional attachment, we are prioritising the outcome that is best for the landscape itself and its constituent communities. With restoration well advanced, financial sustainability effectively secured, and strong long-term investment on the horizon, we believe this is the right moment for Conserve to step back and redeploy resources to other vulnerable landscapes where support is urgently needed.
This transition reflects the success of the Tondwa project and the strength of the platform that has been built over the past four years. We are proud of what has been achieved together and confident that this next chapter will build on those accomplishments to ensure that Tondwa continues to thrive for wildlife, for people, and as part of the wider Nsumbu-Tanganyika Conservation Programme.
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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