Assessing Road Mitigation Options for Wildlife in Kafue National Park and Greater Kafue Ecosystem, Zambia
Report Coming Soon!
The M9 highway through Zambia’s Kafue National Park is an important route for motorists but for many animals—such as lions, cheetahs, antelope, and wild dogs—it is also a dangerous barrier. A 2006 upgrade of the highway increased traffic speed and volume, resulting in more wildlife-vehicle collisions and disruption of the natural movements of species to find food, water and mates.
To address this reduction in wildlife populations and threats to their long-term survival, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation partnered with the Zambian Carnivore Programme to understand exactly where and how this road is putting wildlife at risk through a comprehensive assessment.
Through systematic road surveys to collect data and by layering maps of movement patterns and mortality records, we uncovered the hotspots where animals are most vulnerable to road impacts—places where they gather to feed, migrate, or find water. With these insights, we can now recommend targeted solutions to make the road safer for wildlife while keeping people moving.
Key Findings
- This study recorded 58 species during roadkill and animal count surveys, including lion, hyena, wild dog, cheetah and leopard
- The road corridor, heavily used by wildlife, is an ongoing risk for the survival of individual animals as well as for whole animal populations
- Records of roadkill carcasses and live animals are unevenly distributed along the M9 road, concentrating near water sources
- The study identified priority road sections to apply mitigation measures
Main recommendations
- Immediate priorities include speed reduction, combining movable or permanent speed humps with shoulder impediments, enforcement of speed limits (patrols, speed traps, and monitoring of travel times at park gates), and clear signage to support compliance.
- Medium-term actions focus on minimizing wildlife attraction near roads by relocating artificial water sources, restricting nighttime truck traffic and systematic speed enforcement (possibly with fines).
- Long-term considerations include revisiting the need for dedicated wildlife crossing structures, developing a comprehensive land use plan for the adjacent Mumbwa GMA to regulate settlement and resource use, and strengthening policy frameworks for funding and effective implementation and enforcement of mitigation measures.
Impact
The recommendations provided, if implemented, will protect the ecological and economic value of Kafue National Park and surrounding areas. In addition, since the approach used in the assessment is relevant and replicable throughout the larger region, it will provide transferable protocols and recommendations for road ecology across Africa. The data collection and ongoing monitoring protocols developed for the project are low-cost, high-impact, easy to implement, and leverage existing data that most parks already collect.
The report “A Road Runs Through It” will be available in Fall 2025.
Banner Photo: African wild dogs, Zambia – Adobe Stock
