Kafue Flats

The Kafue River spreads across a broad, low floodplain in central Zambia during the wet season. The resulting cycle of inundation and retreat creates productive grasslands and wetlands.

The Kafue lechwe is a wetland antelope endemic to the Kafue Flats. Its long, splayed hooves and water-adapted movement help it use flooded grasslands that many other antelopes avoid.

Lochinvar National Park protects part of the southern flats, while Blue Lagoon National Park lies on the northern side. Both conserve floodplain habitat used by lechwe and large numbers of waterbirds.

The Itezhi-Tezhi and Kafue Gorge dams altered the timing and extent of natural flooding. Those changes affect grazing, fisheries, wildlife habitat, and farming across the roughly 6,500-square-kilometre floodplain.