Integrating climate change aspects in protected areas management planning in Zambia

Climate change is increasingly being recognized as a major threat that will not only present new risks and threats to Protected Areas (PAs) but also will exacerbate existing threats and vulnerabilities. For many PAs, current conservation objectives, strategies and actions will need to be revised to best meet the challenges posed by climate change.

 

The above withstanding, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife with technical support from IUCN undertook to integrate climate change aspects in the Nsumbu National Park (Zambia) General Management Planning. This involved the design of climate change adaptation measures aimed at improving park resilience to climate change.

 

One of the immediate impacts of the solution include improved capacity of park managers to address climate change and increased public awareness on the impacts of climate change on ecological and social systems. Full scale implementation of the solution will result into improved park resilience to climate change.