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Zambezi River Basin

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The Wetland Book

Abstract

More than 4.7% of the Zambezi River Basin is wetlands, several of which individually cover areas in excess of 1,000 km2. The basin contains 13 Ramsar Sites and thousands of lesser known wetlands. It is estimated that 20 million people (ca. 50% of the basin population) live in the vicinity of wetlands largely because of the wide range of ecosystem services, they provide, including support to fisheries, livestock and other forms of agriculture, as well as tourism. The wetlands also support considerable biodiversity, influence the hydrology of the basin and play an important role in the economies of the riparian countries. Currently there are a number of threats to the basin wetlands, including inappropriate agricultural practices, altered hydrology due to hydropower dams and overfishing. Increased irrigation and climate change are likely to add to future stresses on wetlands. However, careful planning and management, including coordinated releases from hydropower dams, could safeguard and rejuvenate many wetlands in the basin.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecosystem Services, International Water Management Institute, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Matthew McCartney

  2. Water Futures, International Water Management Institute, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Lisa-Maria Rebelo

  3. Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Mekong, International Water Management Institute, P.O. Box 4199, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Matthew McCartney & Lisa-Maria Rebelo

  4. International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI, USA

    Richard D. Beilfuss

  5. College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Richard D. Beilfuss

Authors
  1. Matthew McCartney
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  2. Richard D. Beilfuss
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  3. Lisa-Maria Rebelo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard D. Beilfuss .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

    G. Randy Milton

  3. Nature Management Services, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    R. Crawford Prentice

  4. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

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McCartney, M., Beilfuss, R.D., Rebelo, LM. (2018). Zambezi River Basin. In: Finlayson, C., Milton, G., Prentice, R., Davidson, N. (eds) The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4001-3_91

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