LocationsGoing beyond response to disaster prevention and resilience in times of shock
What Happens When the Rains Return?
July 2, 2025
With climate shocks becoming more frequent and traditional migration patterns disrupted, locals are now calling for long-term solutions, not just short-term relief.
Photo by: UNDP Zambia/Vanessa Wematu Akibate
After a long and dry 2024, the rains finally returned to Zambia in the new year, blessing the earth with fertile soils and promoting recovery after the devastatingly low harvests of the past year. But for communities and wildlife around the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, the scars of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-induced drought remain painfully visible. Although the skies have opened, those who found themselves on the frontlines of a silent, deadly struggle for shrinking resources are still reeling from the aftershocks.
The drought has exposed a deep and widening rift in the relationship between people and wildlife in Zambia, one that has not washed away from the communities’ collective memory. Jackson Mulemwa, a resident of Mukuni township, knows this all too well. He survived an elephant encounter that claimed the life of his friend on a bicycle ride back from town. His story is one among many, highlighting the dangers facing communities living near the park.
Since February 2024, the three chiefdoms surrounding the national park have been dealing with the lingering effects of the drought and have experienced heightened levels of human-wildlife conflict. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) confirm that over 980 reports of elephant attacks have been made since, and deaths have more doubled since the year 2021. This is directly linked to the increasing number of elephants migrating out of the park and into nearby communities in search of food and water.
In response, DNPW has collaborated with local businesses and organisations in Livingstone to provide emergency feed for wildlife. Hotels like Radisson Blu, along with the Livingstone Tourism Association, donated resources to keep the wild animals safely within the park. However, this solution bred short-term results and as the conflict persists, stakeholders are turning their attention to long-term solutions.
Radisson Blu Mosi Oa Tunya joins the Antoomwe Campaign
Photo by: UNDP Zambia/Vanessa Wematu Akibate
The Root of the Conflict
Historically, elephant herds have migrated between Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia, but climate shocks have disrupted the natural patterns of the region. The elephant’s food maps are shifting, drawing them into communities where people farm, work and live. These once predictable migrations, where locals knew of the corridors elephants used and when the elephants would pass, are now erratic and dangerously mysterious.
“In the past, elephants and some of the other animals would come out of the park in September but now, we see them as early as May. Most of them even arrive in June/July”— says Stanley Mhlanga-Nana, a resident of Sakubita Compound.
This change is largely due to insufficient water sources inside the park. Although solar-powered water pumps have been installed, they are either incomplete, too close to the park's boundary, or lack the capacity to serve growing wildlife populations.
Compounding the problem is the absence of a buffer zone around Mosi-oa-Tunya, one of only two parks in Zambia without a Game Management Area (GMA). This was initially intended to preserve the elephant’s access to their historic corridors and promote harmonious coexistence between Livingstonians and wildlife. However, this, combined with population growth in elephant herds and townships like Dambwa, has led to increasingly dangerous interactions between humans and wildlife who are competing for dwindling resources The park’s fence is frequently vandalized, sometimes for scrap metal, other times by elephants seeking food. Residents frequently report elephants raiding gardens, breaking water tanks, and wandering through neighbourhoods.
Improper waste disposal is another issue. Dambwa's growing population discards waste well beyond the park's boundary, attracting wildife to these dumpsites. “We have started to find plastic in elephant dung, which as you can imagine, is a worrying trend. Not only is it spreading waste in and out of the park, it is causing concern over the long-term effects this will have on the health of our elephant species here”, says the Director of DNPW in Livingstone. This alarming trend threatens the health of the animals and underscores the growing environmental hazards developing in the area.
A Shared Space Under Stress
The competition for limited resources is putting both communities and wildlife at risk. Crops are being destroyed, and movements, restricted. People fear for their children’s safety. “We have to keep watch in all directions,” Helen Musowe, explains. “The elephants can come at any time.” Another Georgina Siazibola adds, “It’s even hard to send children to school. We don’t know if they’ll come back.”
Zambia’s elephants are listed as Appendix I species under CITES, affording them the highest level of protection. In Livingstone, where tourism is the backbone of the local economy, communities understand the importance of protecting these animals. However, as Fabian Siazibola, a Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) advocate, puts it: “We just want them to stay in the park. It has become too much, and too dangerous.”
Non-motorised transport users routinely encounter elephants along busy roads, in their communities and in their places of business - fanning the flames of conflict
Photo by: UNDP Zambia/Vanessa Wematu Akibate
From Emergency Response to Long-Term Resilience
While the rainfall was a welcomed relief from the harsh 2024 drought, there is still a long way to go to ensuring that the coexistence is restored in Livingstone. The urgent need for water persists and after experiencing the effects of climate shocks, communities are now acutely aware of the need for a long-term solution to enforce prevention and enhance mitigation and adaptation strategies in the communities.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to promote conservation efforts and address Human-Wildlife Conflicts in the country. Together, they have collaborated with communities and local actors to create the Antoomwe Campaign, a crowdfunding initiative to raise USD 100,000 to address the root causes of HWC. The campaign offers a tri-pronged solution: refurbish and build water points deeper inside the park, provide alternative livelihoods to affected communities, and expand public education on coexistence.
After repeated damage from roaming wildlife, community members are eager to restore their farms and rebuild their livelihoods.
Photo by: UNDP Zambia/Vanessa Wematu Akibate
With the support of private sector partners like Radisson Blu Hotel and local NGOs, the campaign aims to deliver both immediate relief and long-term adaptation measures.
In May 2025, further engagements between UNDP and DNPW identified even more solutions: improved waste management, and early warning systems to track elephant movements and alert communities. These solutions are being integrated in a broader multipronged strategy to provide a holistic intervention to address the rise in Human-Wildlife Conflict in the short- to long-term.
“Much work remains, but with committed partners and continued community engagement, a path to peaceful coexistence is possible. As climate shocks become more frequent, preparedness must become the norm”, UNDP’s Environment and Clean Energy Specialist, Carol Mwape-Zulu notes.
Join the Movement
You can be part of the solution. Visit the Antoomwe Campaign site to learn more and contribute. Even donations as little as USD 5 can be the difference between conflict and coexistence.
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