WORLD CONSERVATION UNION DESCRIPTION

NAME Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park

IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY

II (National Park)

Natural World Heritage Site - Criteria ii, iii

BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE 3.07.04 (Miombo Woodland/savanna)

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Along the Zambezi River on the southern border with Zimbabwe, between the Sinde River and the Songwe Gorge. The park is bounded by the river, the Dambwa Forest Reserve to the north, the municipal area of Livingstone to the east, and trust land to the south. Livingstone District, Southern Province. 17°56'S, 25°55'E

DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT The Victoria Falls Reserve Preservation Ordinance of 1934 established the Victoria Falls Executive Committee to be responsible for the preservation of the falls area. In 1948 the National Monuments Commission established a Victoria Falls Conservancy Committee, and extended the protected area downstream to Songwe Gorge (confirmed in legislation in 1949). In 1953 the colonial Governor formed the Victoria Falls Trust, which had responsibility for the area until the national park was declared on 25 February 1972 by Statutory Instrument No. 44 (when the area came under the jurisdiction of the National Parks and Wildlife Service). There are six national monuments within the park, including the falls. Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, together with Victoria Falls National Park, were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1989.

AREA 6,860ha. Contiguous to Victoria Falls National Park (2,000ha) and Zambezi National Park (56,200ha) in Zimbabwe, which are themselves contiguous to the Matetsi-Kazuma Pan-Hwange (Wankie) complex. The complex of conservation areas in Zimbabwe covers over 1,846,700ha excluding forest reserves. The park also abuts Dambwa Forest Reserve (134,032ha) in Zambia. (Note that many authoritative sources give the area of the park as 6,600ha.)

LAND TENURE Government

ALTITUDE 833m to 915m (at the top of the falls)

PHYSICAL FEATURES The park comprises the left bank of the Zambezi River above Victoria Falls, the eastern half of the falls themselves, and a series of deep gorges below the falls. The falls are the most significant feature of the park, and when the Zambezi is in full flood (usually February or March) they form the largest curtain of falling water in the world.During these months, over 500 million litres or water per minute go over the falls, which are 1708m wide, and drop 99m at Rainbow Falls in Zambia. At low water in November flow can be reduced to around 10 million litres/minute, and the river is divided into a series of braided channels that descend in many separate falls.

Below the falls the river enters a narrow series of gorges which represent locations successively occupied by the falls earlier in their history. Since the uplifting of the Makgadikgadi Pan area some two million years ago, the Zambezi River has been cutting through the basalt, exploiting weak fissures, and forming a series of retreating gorges. Seven previous waterfalls occupied the seven gorges below the present falls, and Devil's Cataract in Zimbabwe is the starting point for cutting back to a new waterfall that will eventually leave the present lip high above the river in the gorge below.

CLIMATE Annual rainfall is 600mm-700mm, but the spray thrown up by the falls is partly responsible for sustaining the 'rainforest' opposite the falls. Mean annual temperature is 20°C.

VEGETATION The predominant vegetation is mopane Colophospermum mopane forest with small areas of teak and miombo woodland, and a narrow band of riverine forest along the Zambezi. The riverine 'rainforest' within the waterfall splash zone is of particular interest, a fragile ecosystem of discontinuous forest on sandy alluvium, dependent upon maintenance of abundant water and high humidity resulting from the spray plume. Tree species within this forest include Acacia nigricans, Afzelia quanzensis, ebony Diospyros mespiliformis, ivory palm Hyphaene ventricosa, muchiningi Mimusops zeyheri, African olive Olea africana, date palm Phoenix reclinata, waterbroom Syzygium guineense, muskili Trichilia emetica, and Cape and strangler figs Ficus spp. Herbaceous species include Sebaea pentandra, Lobelia kirkii and Gladiolus unguiculatus, while the dense fern growth includes Cheilanthos farinosa.

FAUNA Several herds of elephant Loxodonta africana (V) occur in Zambezi National Park, occasionally crossing to the islands and Zambian mainland during the dry season when water levels are low. There are small herds of buffalo Syncerus caffer and wildebeeste Connochaetes taurinus, as well as zebra Equus burchelli, warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus, giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis and bushpig Potamocherus porcus, and schools of Hippopotamus amphibius are frequent above the falls. Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus can be seen in the gorges below the falls. Vervet monkey Cercopithecus aethiops and chacma baboon Papio ursinus are common. Lion Panthera leo and leopard P. pardus are occasionally seen. Taita falcon Falco fasciinucha (scarce but widespread in eastern and central Africa) breeds in the gorges, as do black stork Ciconia nigra, black eagle Aquilla verreauxi, peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus and augur buzzard Buteo rufofuscatus augur. Victoria Falls forms a geographical barrier between the distinct fish faunas of the upper and middle Zambezi River. Thirty-nine species of fish have been recorded from the waters below the falls, including butter barbel, eastern bottlenose, chessa Distichodus schenga and nkupe, and eighty-four from the waters above the falls, including African mottled eel, tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus, Kafue pike and silver barbel.

CULTURAL HERITAGE Stone artefacts of Homo habilis from 3 million years ago have been found near the falls, as have stone tools indicating prolonged occupation of the area in the Middle Stone Age (50,000 years ago). Weapons, adornments and digging tools indicatethe presence of hunter-gathering communities in the Late Stone Age (from 10,000 to 2,000 years ago), displaced about 2,000 years ago by farmers using iron tools, who kept livestock and lived in villages.

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION Ethnic composition of the people living in the falls area outside the parks is a mixture of recent immigrants and long-term occupants. The Tonga people have been living in the area for at least seven centuries, latterly with Subiya, Leya, Toka and Totela (and with smaller numbers of Nanzwa, Yeyi and Mbukushu). More recent immigrants included Lozi, Kololo, Ndebele and English language speakers.

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES This is one of the most frequently visited national parks in Zambia. Facilities include an hotel, two restaurants, a non-catering camp (70 beds) and a camping ground. The park is 11km from Livingstone, where further tourist facilities are available, and which is accessible by road, rail and air. There is a series of footpaths in the falls area, including to Knife Edge Bridge, and a field museum which displays some of the archaeological excavation.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES Apart from the archaeological museum there are no research facilities within the park, although facilities are available at Livingstone Museum in nearby Livingstone.

CONSERVATION VALUE The Mosi-Oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls National Park is one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls. The falls and associated gorges are an outstanding example of river capture and the erosive forces of the water still continues to sculpture the hard basalts.

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT The principal objective guiding management of the park is to conserve the falls area in its natural state. Mosi-Oa-Tunya is not regarded as a major area for wildlife conservation, although the policy is that wildlife should be protected and visible to tourists insofar as is possible. In the 1970s there was a 1,000ha fenced zoological park up-river from the falls, containing both exotic and native species. However, this was closed to the public in 1981. The remaining area is protected by law against hunting, and destruction of vegetation or geomorphological features. In keeping with the primary objective, development in the immediate vicinity of the falls themselves is largely restricted to the provision of footpaths, and to Knife Edge Bridge. The management plan drawn up for the park under the auspices of the National Conservation Committee, sets the overall management objectives of the park, and specific priorities for five identified zones. However, although the plan has been approved in principle, the financial and administrative resources required for its implementation are not available at present.

The Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe are currently carrying out an environmental impact assessment for an area 30km around the falls. Phase II of this project will invovle developing a master plan for the area. The project is being funded by CIDA and is being coordinated by IUCN. The report is expected to be completed by the end of the year (National Heritage Conservation Commission, pers. comm., 1995).

MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS There has been quite a range of development within the park, much before its establishment. Buildings include an hotel and other leisure facilities (lodge, chalets, boat club, field museum, and a curio sellers shelter), the HEP station andancillary works, housing for national parks and ZESCO staff, and certain old homesteads and villages. Some of the development associated with the power generation facilities is particularly intrusive. The railway line and road between Livingstone and Kazungula run through the park above the falls, and the road and rail links between Zambia and Zimbabwe bisect the park, and then cross the river in a spectacular bridge over the second gorge (Falls Bridge). Zambian customs and immigration services have facilities within the park. Cattle grazing has become well established within the park boundaries, and there is gradual encroachment of small-scale cultivation of maize and sorghum. The town of Livingstone is expanding rapidly, and local people and businesses are not currently motivated towards nature conservation. The situation is perhaps exacerbated by insufficient funds and manpower available to the park authorities. The 'rainforest' is vulnerable to disturbance by trampling, which allows penetration by ruderal species such as Lantana camara, and when grossly disturbed the forest cannot regenerate easily, giving way to xeric scrub. The proposed construction of a third dam on the Zambezi River would flood several gorges within the park (J. Thorsell, pers. comm., 1993).

STAFF No current information

BUDGET No current information

LOCAL ADDRESSES

Wildlife Ranger, PO Box 60174, Livingstone. Under the terms of the Decentralization Act (1980), administrative responsibility is vested in Livingstone District Council (PO Box 60048, Livingstone), although management is undertaken by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.

The Natural Heritage Conservation Commission, Heritage House (formerly Kent House) Musi-o-Tunya Road, PO Box 60124, Livingstone, Zambia (Tel: 260-03-320 481; Fax: 260-03-324 509).

REFERENCES

Chabwela, H.N. (1983). Patterns of visitor use of the Victoria Falls. African Social Research 35.

Clark, J.D. (1952). Victoria Falls Handbook. First Edition. National Monuments Commission, Livingstone.

Fagan, B.M. (1964). Victoria Falls Handbook. Second Edition. National Monuments Commission.

National Conservation Committee (1987). Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park Management Plan. Unpublished Report, NCC, Lusaka

Phillipson, D.W. (Ed.) (1975). Mosi-oa-Tunya. A handbook to the Victoria Falls Region. Longman.

Zambia/Zimbabwe (1988). Nomination of Victoria Falls/Mosi-Oa-Tunya as a World Heritage Site. Ministry of Tourism, Zambia, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Zimbabwe

DATE 1984, revised April 1989, October 1995