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Mafinga Hills, Zambia

Forest restoration for nature, water and people

0 ha
under restoration
0
trees growing
0
species regenerating
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families engaged
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individuals trained

Location

Muchinga province, northeast Zambia

Project partners

The Wildlife and Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia (WECSZ)

Restoration approaches

Assisted Natural Regeneration; active planting

Species

Four known endemic and five near-endemic species

Fauna

Blue Swallow; African Crowned Eagle; Nchisi Pygmy Chameleon

The mountain habitat found in the Mafinga Hills of wet, dry and hill miombo, afromontane and riparian forests and montane grasslands is rare in the country.

Although net deforestation in the district is not high yet, it is widespread throughout, and is especially worrying inside the National Forest Reserve and along the rivers due to chitemene (slash-and-burn agriculture). 

The project aims to restore a naturally functioning forest landscape surrounding and including the Mafinga Hills by setting up a community forest covering approximately 1500 ha in the Mwenechifungwe Chiefdom.

Why and how we're working here

Montane and riverine forest patches are degrading, and man-made fires from illegal activities on the plateau are impacting biodiversity and reducing the ability of soils to retain water.

The project's impact on

people and nature

Our restoration here will safeguard the water catchment of the Luangwa River, protect the biodiversity of the Mafinga massif and the Luangwa valley, and ensure that the farming communities neighbouring the massif have an increased resilience to climate change.

Explore the interactive map

Who's funding the Mafinga Hills project?