Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area

Lore & Background

The idea for the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area was initiated by the Peace Parks Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature, inspired by the Okavango–Upper Zambezi International Tourism Initiative and the Four Corners Transboundary Natural Resource Management. In 2003, the ministers responsible for tourism in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe met in Katima Mulilo, Namibia, about the project. In 2006, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) endorsed the KAZA TFCA as a SADC project, and later that year the five partner countries signed a memorandum of understanding

Reader's Guide

The Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area represents a major international effort to manage a vast ecosystem across five national borders. Its significance lies in its scale—it is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world—and its role in protecting the largest population of African elephants, approximately 250,000. The area incorporates numerous pre-existing protected areas, including Chobe National Park, Hwange National Park, and Victoria Falls, covering 287,132 km² of previously designated land. The KAZA TFCA facilitates cross-border wildlife movement and tourism, exemplified by the common KAZA visa introduced in 2014. Its legacy includes fostering regional cooperation among Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, supported by international funding from Germany, the World Bank, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The area's center at the confluence of the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers highlights its geographic and ecological importance as a hub for biodiversity and conservation in Southern Africa.

Did You Know?

• The KAZA TFCA is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world.
• It is home to approximately 250,000 African elephants, the largest population in the world.
• The area was officially opened on March 15, 2012, in Katima Mulilo, Namibia.
• In November 2014, Zambia and Zimbabwe introduced a common KAZA visa for free movement within the area.

A Continent-Scale Wilderness

The Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area holds the distinction of being the world's second-largest dedicated nature and landscape conservation zone, stretching across the borders of five Southern African nations. Its total footprint reaches 520,000 square kilometres, weaving together the Upper Zambezi River corridor, the Okavango basin and Delta, Namibia's Caprivi Strip, Angola's southeastern reaches, Zambia's southwestern territories, Botswana's northern wildlands, and Zimbabwe's western expanses. The geographic heart of the region sits at the point where the Zambezi and Chobe Rivers converge, precisely where the borders of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe intersect. Perhaps the most striking ecological fact about this landscape is its elephant population: roughly 250,000 African elephants roam the area, making it the single largest concentration of the species anywhere on Earth. The land is apportioned among the five nations with Botswana holding the largest share at 30 percent, followed by Zambia at 25 percent, Angola at 17 percent, and Namibia and Zimbabwe each at 14 percent.

From Vision to Treaty

The blueprint for this transfrontier collaboration was first drawn up by the Shoshong Constituency Foundation in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature. Two earlier initiatives provided the conceptual spark: the Okavango–Upper Zambezi International Tourism Initiative and the Four Corners Transboundary Natural Resource Management framework. In 2003, tourism ministers from all five prospective partner nations gathered in Katima Mulilo, Namibia, to discuss the project's feasibility. Three years later, in 2006, the Southern African Development Community formally endorsed the conservation area as a continental SADC project. That same year, the five governments sealed their commitment by signing a memorandum of understanding at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The definitive legal milestone arrived on August 18, 2011, when heads of government from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe signed the establishing treaty. A year and a half after that signing, on March 15, 2012, the area was officially opened to the public in Katima Mulilo, bringing the decade-long diplomatic process to a ceremonial close.

A Mosaic of Protected Parks

Within the 520,000-square-kilometre envelope of the conservation area, 287,132 square kilometres are already designated as pre-existing protected zones, forming a dense mosaic of national parks, game reserves, and nature sites. Zambia contributes five parks to the network, including Kafue, Liuwa Plain, Mosi-oa-Tunya, Sioma Ngwezi, and Lower Zambezi National Parks. Namibia adds five more: Bwabwata, Khaudum, Mangetti, Mudumu, and Nkasa Rupara. Botswana's portion encompasses Chobe National Park, the Makgadikgadi Pan, Nxai Pan National Park, and the Moremi Game Reserve. Zimbabwe offers the largest cluster with seven sites, ranging from Hwange and Mana Pools to Victoria Falls National Park, Matusadona, Chizarira, Kazuma Pan, and Zambezi National Parks. Angola rounds out the collection with Luengue-Luiana and Longa-Mavinga National Parks. Together these protected areas safeguard not only the region's celebrated elephant herds but also critical wetland systems, river corridors, and savanna habitats that span international boundaries.

Funding, Research & Cross-Border Travel

Sustaining a conservation area of this magnitude requires substantial external financial backing. The KAZA TFCA draws funding from a diverse portfolio of international donors, including the KfW Development Bank, the German federal government, the World Bank, and the governments of the Netherlands and Sweden. Beyond financing, the area has become a living laboratory for wildlife science. In 2014, researchers conducted a comprehensive lion survey across the entire transfrontier zone, gathering data on the big cats that move freely through the interconnected park network. That same year marked a practical breakthrough for visitors: in November 2014, the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe introduced a joint KAZA visa, granting holders the right to travel seamlessly across borders within the conservation area without obtaining separate entry permits for each country. This single-visa arrangement was a tangible step toward the area's founding vision of treating the landscape as one continuous wilderness rather than a patchwork of sovereign territories.