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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2001 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Fulvous Whistling-duck Dendrocygna bicolor	LC	non-breeding (1994)	58,384 birds	A4i
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca	LC	non-breeding (-)	3,500 birds	A4i
Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis	LC	non-breeding (1994)	4,133 birds	A4i
Knob-billed Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos	LC	non-breeding (1994)	20,698 birds	A4i
Southern Pochard Netta erythrophthalma	LC	non-breeding (2000)	3,068 birds	A4i
Blue-billed Teal Spatula hottentota	LC	non-breeding (2001)	3,930 birds	A4i
Red-billed Teal Anas erythrorhyncha	LC	non-breeding (1999)	10,407 birds	A4i
Coppery-tailed Coucal Centropus cupreicaudus	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Corncrake Crex crex	LC	winter (-)	present	A1
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	VU	non-breeding (1995)	1,171 birds	A1, A4i
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	VU	resident (-)	1,000 pairs	A1, A4i
Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis	LC	non-breeding (1998)	667 birds	A4i
African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus	LC	non-breeding (1999)	15,000–20,000 birds	A4i
African Spoonbill Platalea alba	LC	non-breeding (2001)	1,595 birds	A4i
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus	LC	non-breeding (1999)	4,097 birds	A4i
Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides	LC	non-breeding (1997)	1,506 birds	A4i
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis	LC	non-breeding (1995)	14,126 birds	A4i
Great White Egret Ardea alba	LC	non-breeding (1993)	2,223 birds	A4i
Black Heron Egretta ardesiaca	LC	non-breeding (2000)	2,933 birds	A4i
Slaty Egret Egretta vinaceigula	VU	resident (-)	present	A1
Yellow-billed Egret Ardea brachyrhyncha	LC	non-breeding (-)	1,000 birds	A4i
Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus	LC	non-breeding (1994)	3,086 birds	A4i
Long-tailed Cormorant Microcarbo africanus	LC	non-breeding (-)	10,000 birds	A4i
Kittlitz's Plover Charadrius pecuarius	LC	non-breeding (2000)	5,000–6,000 birds	A4i
Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus	LC	winter (1995)	30,000–35,000 birds	A4i
Long-toed Lapwing Vanellus crassirostris	LC	non-breeding (2001)	1,395 birds	A4i
Ruff Calidris pugnax	LC	winter (2001)	71,285 birds	A4i
Great Snipe Gallinago media	NT	winter (-)	300 birds	A1, A4i
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola	LC	non-breeding (2000)	17,070 birds	A4i
Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni	NT	winter (-)	100 birds	A1, A4i
African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris	LC	non-breeding (2000)	520 birds	A1, A4i
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	non-breeding (1997)	1,226 birds	A4i
White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus	LC	winter (-)	2,000 birds	A4i
Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus	NT	winter (-)	present	A1
Böhm's Bee-eater Merops boehmi	LC	resident (1998)	rare	A3
Racquet-tailed Roller Coracias spatulatus	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Miombo Pied Barbet Tricholaema frontata	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Zambian Barbet Lybius chaplini	VU	resident (1998)	present	A1, A3
Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni	LC	winter (-)	common	A1
Dickinson's Kestrel Falco dickinsoni	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Stierling's Wren-warbler Calamonastes stierlingi	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Hartlaub's Babbler Turdoides hartlaubii	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Meves's Long-tailed Starling Lamprotornis mevesii	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Kurrichane Thrush Turdus libonyana	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Arnot's Chat Myrmecocichla arnotti	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
White-breasted Sunbird Cinnyris talatala	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Brown Firefinch Lagonosticta nitidula	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Broad-tailed Paradise-whydah Vidua obtusa	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Green Indigobird Vidua codringtoni	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Fülleborn's Longclaw Macronyx fuelleborni	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding (-)	100,000-499,999 birds	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2001. The most recent assessment (2017) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	150 / 3,000 (pairs)	5	very poor

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Grassland	-	-	very poor

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Energy production and mining	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of area covered (10–49%)	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1966	Gwisho Hot Springs	Natural Monument (III)	-
1971	Kafue Flats	Game Management Area (VI)	80
1971	Lochinvar	National Park (II)	6
1973	Blue Lagoon	National Park (II)	7

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Shrubland	48
Forest	23
Artificial/Terrestrial	14
Grassland	12

Land use	% of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture	-
forestry	-
hunting	-
nature conservation and research	-
water management	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kafue Flats (Zambia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kafue-flats-iba-zambia on 23/12/2024.