Data Zone
Country/territory: Zambia
IBA criteria met: A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 463,600 hectares (4,636.00 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2005 | poor | low | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2001 baseline)
Situated wholly on the west bank of the Luangwa river, the park lies upstream from South Luangwa National Park and is separated from it by a 30–40-km-wide corridor (Munyamadzi Game Management Area). Much of the area lies between 600–900 m and is dominated by mopane, although large areas of this woodland have been destroyed by elephants when poaching pressure has caused them to concentrate in safe areas. Away from the river, the park climbs towards the first ridges of the Muchinga Escarpment and, in places, reaches over 1,300 m. Here, the better-drained soils support miombo. There are smaller patches of munga and riparian forest, but little grassland. Compared to its sister park it is poorly known and access is restricted.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. The avifauna is very similar to that of South Luangwa (ZM019). The Zambezian biome endemics include Neocichla gutturalis and several species typical of escarpment woodland such as Nectarinia shelleyi and Plocepasser rufoscapulatus.
Non-bird biodiversity: A wide variety of mammals occur, including Loxodonta africana (EN) and good numbers of the endemic subspecies Connochaetes taurinus cooksoni.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: North Luangwa National Park (Zambia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/north-luangwa-national-park-iba-zambia on 22/12/2024.