Zambia - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Forests, agro-ecosystems and wetlands are the most important ecosystems to the national economy and rural livelihoods... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Forest reserves are today significantly threatened by encroachment through cultivation and settlement. In the North-Western Province, this process is driven mostly by mining, while Northern Zambia has lost much of its primary cover to shifting cultivation... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Zambia’s first NBSAP (1999) set out 14 targets distributed among 6 goals on: conservation of ecosystems through protected areas; conservation of genetic diversity; improving the legal and institutional framework and human resources to implement the strategies for conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits from biodiversity; sustainable use and management of biological resources; developing an appropriate legal and institutional framework and needed human resources to minimize the risks of GMOs; and ensuring the equitable sharing of benefits from the use of Zambia’s biological resources... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Community involvement in conservation activities has increased as a result of incentives offered. A mechanism for sharing benefits from hunting concessions and other sources of income with communities, through Community Resource Boards (CRBs) and Game Management Areas (GMAs), has been developed... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Zambia enacted the Environmental Management Act in 2011 which is the parent environmental legislation with strict requirements for EIA and SEA for any large-scale development project... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

A key lesson learned from implementing the first NBSAP (1999) was the need for long-term investment in a well-coordinated and mainstreamed biodiversity... More »