Two new UNESCO biosphere reserves in Zambia and Zimbabwe!

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) has approved the designation of 11 new biosphere reserves in 9 countries, including the Kafue Flats Biosphere Reserve in central and southern Zambia and the Chimanimani Biosphere Reserve in eastern Zimbabwe. With the new designations, the World Network of Biosphere Reserves totals 738 biosphere reserves in 134 countries, including 22 transboundary sites (90 sites in 33 countries in Africa). These additions were decided by the 34th session of the International Co-ordinating Council, the governing body UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme, which is composed of 34 representatives of UNESCO Member States. The Council was meeting from 13 to 17 June 2022 at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris.



The Kafue Flats Biosphere Reserve in central and southern Zambia has a size of more than 2,600,000 ha and cuts across various districts that are of archaeological and historical significance, as well as a Ramsar site and an Important Bird Area. The biosphere reserve is home to over 400 bird species and several mammal species, such as zebra, buffalo, hippopotamus and the endemic Kafue lechwe.



The Chimanimani Biosphere Reserve in eastern Zimbabwe comprises a mosaic of mountains, forests, grasslands and shrubs, along with freshwater ecosystems. The landscape extends into Mozambique, forming part of a proposed transboundary biosphere reserve that would extend into the East African montane ecosystem, which is a global biodiversity hotspot