Error message

  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementBase::execute($args = [], $options = []) should either be compatible with PDOStatement::execute(?array $params = null): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2244 of /home3/landsci0/public_html/mudumu/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home3/landsci0/public_html/mudumu/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home3/landsci0/public_html/mudumu/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::key() should either be compatible with Iterator::key(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home3/landsci0/public_html/mudumu/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::valid() should either be compatible with Iterator::valid(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home3/landsci0/public_html/mudumu/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home3/landsci0/public_html/mudumu/includes/database/database.inc).



Bwabwata National Park (Kwando Core Area)

Land uses
  • State protected area
Land area
  • 6,100 km2

The Kwando Core Area of Bwabwata National Park falls within the Mudumu Landscape. 

Bwabwata National Park is unusual in that it is home to both people and wildlife in an approach described as 'a new generation of parks' with a pioneering 'live and let live' conservation ethic which brings substantial benefits to both conservation and community development. The three Core Areas - Kwando, Mahango and Buffalo - are zoned exclusively for conservation but the rest of the park is designated a Multiple Use Area, allowing people to continue living there.

The Park was first proclaimed as the Caprivi Game Reserve in 1966 and upgraded to the Caprivi Game Park in 1968. However, it was declared a military area by the South African Defence Force during Namibia's war of liberation and no wildlife management was possible. It was not until after Independence in 1990 that the Park could be properly run as a conservation area. It was gazetted as the Bwabwata National Park in 2007, incorporating the former Mahango Game Reserve.

The Kwando Core Area of Bwabwata National Park is characterised by a dune-trough system on Kalahari sands, with a well-defined riverine woodland and floodplain fringe along the Kwando River. The river system comprises a network of oxbows, some of which are several kilometres away from the river's current course. This riparian strip is key wildlife habitat.

 


Literature for Bwabwata National Park


» See our Literature and other resources section for more general information.
  • Bwabwata National Park - People and wildlife - a shared history

    Bwabwata National Park - People and wildlife - a shared history

    Bwabwata has been inhabited for millennia, but it is the more recent history that has shaped the Bwabwata National Park of today. Proclaimed in the 1960s as the Caprivi Nature Reserve, then as the Caprivi Game Park, no initial wildlife management took place because the area was a restricted security zone, occupied first by the South African police and subsequently by the South African Defence Force (SADF).
  • Bwabwata National Park - Profile

    Ministry of Environment and Tourism.  Bwabwata National Park - Profile

    The Park was first proclaimed as the Caprivi Game Reserve in 1966 and upgraded to the Caprivi Game Park in 1968. It was gazetted as the Bwabwata National Park in 2007 and incorporated the former Mahango Game Reserve. The Park has had a chequered history as it was declared a military area by the South African Defence Force during Namibia's war of liberation. It was not until after Independence in 1990 that the Park could be properly run as a conservation area.
  • Bwabwata National Park: Kwando Core Area

    Bwabwata National Park: Kwando Core Area

    4 page leaflet describing the Kwando Core Area of Bwabwata National Park, including maps
  • Caprivi and Bwabwata Game Count poster 2011

    Caprivi Game Count poster 2011

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2010, population estimates and trends
  • Caprivi and Bwabwata Game Count poster 2012

    Caprivi and Bwabwata Game Count poster 2012

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2011, population estimates and trends
  • Caprivi and Bwabwata Game Count poster 2013

    Caprivi and Bwabwata Game Count poster 2013

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2012, population estimates and trends
  • Caprivi Game Count poster 2011: protected areas only

    Caprivi Game Count poster 2011: protected areas only

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi (protected areas only); dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2010, population estimates and trends
  • Caprivi State Forest - The Forest Resource

    Caprivi State Forest - The Forest Resource (From Forest Inventory). Namibia-Finland Forestry Programme

  • Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi 2010

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi 2010

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2009, population estimates and trends.
  • Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi: map of live sightings

    Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi: map of live sightings

    Maps showing live sightings of elephant, giraffe, kudu, roan, sable, buffalo, impala, reedbuck, tsessebe and zebra in the 2010 Caprivi game count