NO WILDLIFE, NO 5 MILLION TOURISTS

Senior Wildlife Warden Wilfred Moonga says Zambia must protect its animals and wild spaces if it is serious about turning tourism into jobs, income and a bigger national economy

By Francis Maingaila ♥️

LUSAKA, Zambia24 — 11-09-2026 — Zambia cannot seriously talk about attracting five million tourists while allowing the very wildlife that draws visitors into the country to disappear, Senior Wildlife Warden Wilfred Moonga has warned.

Mr Moonga said Zambia’s elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, lechwe and countless other species were not just animals roaming in the bush but part of the country’s wealth, culture and livelihood.

He told journalists and tourism stakeholders that every animal protected today could mean another tourist tomorrow, another job for a young Zambian, another customer for a lodge and another farmer supplying food to the tourism industry.

His message was simple: if Zambia wants tourism to grow, it must first protect the product it is selling.

Mr Moonga challenged journalists to get out of their offices and see Zambia’s wildlife for themselves, saying it was difficult to tell a convincing tourism story about places one had never visited.

He asked participants how many national parks they had visited and encouraged them to make time to explore more of the country’s protected areas.

He said national parks were created for people to enjoy, yet many Zambians still behaved as though wildlife tourism was meant for foreigners.

Mr Moonga said this mindset needed to change if Zambia was to build a strong domestic tourism culture.

He described wildlife as one of Zambia’s greatest natural assets, saying it carries biological, cultural, ecological and economic value.

For generations, animals have featured in traditional beliefs, clan identities, folklore, ceremonies, traditional regalia and stories passed from one generation to another.

He said wildlife was also deeply woven into Zambia’s national identity, with animals appearing in symbols of authority, cultural expressions and even on the country’s currency.

Mr Moonga said Zambia also had wildlife that could give it an edge in the international tourism market because some species and subspecies were found nowhere else.

He cited the Kafue lechwe and Bangweulu black lechwe among Zambia’s unique wildlife treasures, saying such animals should be treated as valuable tourism assets rather than taken for granted.

But behind that opportunity lies a worrying reality.

Mr Moonga said the Kafue lechwe population, which stood at more than 250,000 in the 1970s, had fallen to about 23,000.

He blamed poaching, unsustainable hunting, disease, livestock activities and human intrusion into wildlife areas for putting pressure on the species.

He said poaching was particularly dangerous because much of it happened at night, leaving conservation officers to discover the damage only after the animals had been killed.

The decline of the Kafue lechwe, he said, should serve as a warning of what Zambia could lose if conservation was treated as an afterthought.

Mr Moonga explained that conservation did not mean locking wildlife away and preventing people from benefiting from it.

Rather, he said, it meant using wildlife responsibly so that people could benefit from it today without destroying the opportunity for future generations.

This is where tourism comes in.

Mr Moonga said a tourist who comes to Zambia to see wildlife does not spend money only on a game drive.

That visitor needs a flight, transport, accommodation, food, guides and other services.

The money can then find its way to hotels, lodges, restaurants, farmers, transporters, travel agents, banks, shops and small businesses.

A lodge needs vegetables, meat, eggs, milk and other supplies. A tourist needs a driver and guide. Workers need salaries. Government collects taxes, licence fees and other revenue.

In other words, wildlife can keep an entire economic chain moving.

Mr Moonga said this was why wildlife conservation should be seen as part of Zambia’s development agenda.

He said communities could also benefit directly from wildlife, particularly in Game Management Areas where hunting is permitted under controlled conditions.

According to Mr Moonga, communities receive 50 per cent of hunting proceeds from GMAs, giving people living alongside wildlife a direct economic stake in conservation.

But he acknowledged that protecting wildlife in communities was not always easy.

Human settlements and cultivation continue to push into wildlife areas, creating a painful cycle in which animals destroy crops and people retaliate against wildlife.

Mr Moonga said the Department of National Parks and Wildlife was working with traditional leaders and communities to improve land-use planning and strengthen community involvement through local conservation structures.

He said Zambia also needed to guard against developments that cut across wildlife corridors and habitats.

Once those corridors are blocked, animals have nowhere to go, and communities can find themselves living on the frontline of human-wildlife conflict.

Mr Moonga said Zambia’s wildlife was also facing the growing threat of illegal trafficking.

He described the illegal wildlife trade as a major organised criminal enterprise and singled out the pangolin as one of the animals most heavily targeted by traffickers.

He said DNPW officers regularly encounter the human cost of this illegal trade, rescuing animals caught in snares and treating those that have been injured.

He recalled the case of a lion found trapped in a wire snare, with the wire cutting deeply into its flesh and reaching the bone.

The animal was weak and emaciated after going for days without food.

Such cases, Mr Moonga said, show that wildlife conservation is not an abstract discussion held in offices. It is a daily struggle to keep animals alive.

He said conservation officers also rescue young elephants after their mothers are killed by poachers, die naturally or become separated from their calves.

The rescued elephants are cared for and fed until they can be moved to appropriate facilities.

Mr Moonga said Zambia had also taken steps to bring wildlife closer to ordinary people.

He cited Lusaka National Park as an example, saying the park gives residents of the capital an opportunity to experience wildlife without travelling deep into the country or paying for expensive safari accommodation.

He urged Lusaka residents, journalists and other Zambians to make use of such facilities.

For him, the tourism story cannot remain a story about Livingstone and Victoria Falls alone.

Zambia has vast wildlife landscapes, national parks and species that can give the country a tourism identity of its own.

Mr Moonga said the country still had an advantage over some heavily visited safari destinations because visitors to Zambia could experience wildlife without the crowds of vehicles that sometimes gather around animals elsewhere.

He said this sense of space, wilderness and authenticity could become one of Zambia’s strongest selling points.

But that advantage will only survive if the wildlife and habitats are protected.

Mr Moonga said conservation also protects ecosystems, supports climate resilience and keeps Zambia’s natural landscapes functioning.

He urged journalists to help Zambians understand that wildlife belongs to the whole country and that its disappearance would carry a cost far beyond the loss of animals.

The loss would be felt in tourism, employment, community incomes, Government revenue and Zambia’s reputation as a destination.

As Zambia pushes towards five million tourist arrivals, Mr Moonga said the country must look after what brings visitors in the first place.

Because when the wildlife disappears, the tourists will have less reason to come.

And when the tourists stop coming, the jobs, businesses and communities that depend on them will feel the pain.